Thursday, June 30, 2016

Relationship with INTJs

I have had my experience with immature INTJs and they are hard to manage. Under-developed INTJs are tough to get through, difficult to talk to and hard to connect with. They basically think they are perfect and will refuse to listen to you unless you speak their language to the exact pitch.

I am not saying I am against them. Not at all. I have the privilege of knowing several INTJs who are mature and they are a delight to be with. 

I found some funny and amusing posters about them. If you are an INTJ, you may disagree. It's ok. They might or might not be true. 

 

 

 

 

 

 


pearlie 

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Living a life in adagio


Crescendoes and Diminuendos, Meditations for Musicians and Music Lovers
by Jack Coleman

I have been using a book by NT Wright for our devotion time in Grace Notes, but I have received feedback that it is too long and deep for our purpose. And so I thought I should go get something better and more suitable for our team, and found this book by Jack Coleman.

What the writer did was to choose fifty two most used musical terms and write about them. They are short and very poignant for us to contemplated as choralists and musicians.

For example, the first devotion I shared with the group from the book today was on the musical term "adagio". It means to be "at east", at a slow tempo. It does not only imply a tempo but also a quality of movement. So if a musician can think of working the movement of their music, it is one without stress or tension, attaining a quality of ease.

Coleman goes on to share that we need to be at ease as well with our fellow partners in service, to be filled with the love of God in our behaviour with one another.

We took the lesson in the sense that we need to also be at ease in our living our everyday life, which is a challenge with life stresses and difficulties. But it is a very good quality of life to have, that is to life our lives in Christ in adagio, trusting in him fully that we are in his hands, whatever the weather, whatever the circumstances.

pearlie

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

How I got my airbag changed in half a day

Honda has announced the recall of cars with relation to the faulty airbag some time last year and I had immediately checked to see if my car was affected.

It was.

But when I called my regular Honda workshop to get it changed, they kept telling me that I need to wait for the letter from Honda.

I just got the letter last week on Thursday.

A death was reported this week on Monday of a woman who got involved in a small collision. The airbag was deployed and she was killed from material protruding from the steering wheel.

I went on the alert and felt I need to get the airbag in my steering wheel changed immediately. I called the same Honda workshop. The earliest date that they can set an appointment for me was August 18! This means I will be at risk for one and a half months. I know I have driven my car for seven years without any incidents, but because of the reported death, I am getting paranoid.

I quickly called another workshop and thankfully they welcomed walk-ins. I went there immediately, waited two and a half hours to get registered, and another hour for the airbag to be changed.

But I got it done in a half a day. At least now I can drive around without a nagging feeling that I might get into an accident and die.

pearlie

Monday, June 27, 2016

When I die

I was looking through my list of passwords to housekeep it when I noticed one on this website I had subscribed to before back in 2013 - www.ifidie.org.

I have blogged about it before here and here.

Almost three years have passed and I have not really got it all in place. I am such a procrastinator. It is time I relook into this and keep it updated.

The idea behind this website is simple. It give us a way to say some last words to someone when we can no longer do it in person.

The process is simple, you first write notes and letters to family and friends, as many as you like, as long as you like. These letters will be encrypted and stored securely on the website. You then specify several people as SafeGuards to help protect your notes. They will not be able to read your notes but they will be the ones to confirm when your notes are to be read, yes, when you die.

If you are interested yourself, check it out here.

pearlie

P/S on 30 June 2016: my good friend Ee-Tan commented on Facebook that the right thing to say is "When I Die" rather than "If I Die". The reason is self-explanatory. I have changed my title of this post to the right one, though the website is still on "If I die".

Sunday, June 26, 2016

When others look at you in disdain

 

What do you do when someone gives you a disdain look? I experienced it this morning when I smiled at someone but she looked at me with disdain, probably at the way I walk, which is different from normal, or the way I look, I don't know. 

I was trying to find an understanding to it when I found this article where I agree with the writer on his points on disdain and contempt. Yes, my self defense is one of intellectualisation. I hope to manage myself through a better understanding of the matter. 

What is disdain and why do people have it?

Here are some excerpts from the article. The writer says,

"I want to argue that disdain, contempt, and scorn have no moral place in our emotional lives. In short, my claim is that these emotions are immoral because they target persons and not actions, and they violate the principle of equality of persons. One can feel shame, anger, hatred, or envy in ways that are either correct or incorrect, but disdain is always wrong because it always makes and sustains false judgments...
Disdain seems to be an emotion that carries the judgment that its object is of low status. Disdain plays a much more important role in human social interactions, but one we acknowledge infrequently. Though I don’t think Kant would want me to put it this way, disdain is the opposite of respect. The admixture of respect and disdain seems to be always at issue when we’re apportioning deference and privilege, recognition and understanding. Disdain is the refusal to recognize another as an equal, just as respect is the consciousness of a status deficit on our own part, combined with a gratitude that the respected one does not disdain us as we believe we know she has a right to do. To those we respect, we offer a thoughtful ear, we make an effort to listen carefully, we evaluate situations from their perspective and give them ‘the benefit of the doubt.’ To those we disdain, we react more quickly and vengefully, withhold forgiveness, and perhaps in some situations we even experience ourselves as worthy of greater respect by virtue of our comparative value to the disdained one...
Meanwhile, this disdain is all-too-frequently internalized by its victims, such that they, too, come to hold themselves in contempt...
Disdain, however, seems to meet with nothing to correct it, because it is not actually ‘about’ something that meets minimum standards of moral verification. Ultimately, disdain and honor both make the same fundamental category mistake: they assume that status is a moral question. I maintain that status is a social fact, not a moral fact. Though human social interactions are themselves shot through with status evaluations, a person acting morally ought not to act in a status conscious way. The fact that our emotions constantly tempt us with status judgments does not render those judgments moral. Where anger and bitterness target actions, and hatred reflects a judgment about a person’s character or a refusal to forgive a harm, contempt targets a persons’ status and not an actions’ morality. From the perspective of morality, all persons deserve equal respect. Our evaluations of a person’s actions may truly reflect the justice or injustice of those actions, but the only truth-tracking moral judgment is one that reports that persons are of equal moral status. Therefore contempt is immoral."

I am sad that we have contempt in our hearts. It is indeed immoral to look down on others because of their status or condition that do not meet up to yours. 

So what do I do with the person who looked at me in disdain this morning? Well, I do not need to put myself up to her standard or level of acceptance. I do not stand before her. I stand before my God. I am who I am and I am a child of God who is covered by the blood of Christ. I live and exist by God's standard and he made me who I am. 

What do I do with her and anyone who had or will look at me in disdain, I will obey Ephesians 4:32, to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave me. 

I am also reminded of Romans 2:1-29 where I myself is also being warned: Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. 

And there is good encouragement in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10: So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

pearlie

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Opera Extravaganza

Anvil Chorus, Il Trovatore, by Giuseppe Verdi
(Selangor Philharmonic Orchestra and Kuala Lumpur City Chorus)


I have not been to the Civic Hall in Petaling Jaya most probably since my school days 30 years ago. I was there this evening to attend the Opera Extravaganza to support my good friend, Ee-Tan who was in the chorus. 

I like their presentation of Va, Pensiero (Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves), Nabucco, by Giuseppe Verdi but I did not record it. I should have. I only recorded the above, Anvil Chorus, Il Trovatore, also by Giuseppe Verdi. 

It was well done but I felt that the first half was much better than the second. The sound system wasn't that good making it difficult to hear the soloists and chorus sometimes. 

But all in all, well done. 

Ee-Tan with her parents

Ee-Tan and I 

pearlie

Friday, June 24, 2016

Would book summaries count as reading?


I was reading an article that got me introduced to Joosr, a book summary app. I downloaded the app and downloaded two books that I had always wanted to read but could not find the time or the mood to: Work Rules by Laszlo Bock and Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. 

I've also read reviews of both books that the former is what Google does with its workforce that would most probably be difficult for others to emulate and the latter is a book that could have been shorter without its content being compromised. 

Joosr is an IOS app that enables you to download summarized non-fiction books that you can complete in just 20 minutes. I have downloaded both the books and so far they are good. Succinct and to the point. 

I am not sure however, if I would pay for the monthly or weekly subscription. And I definitely can't mark them in Goodreads as books I've read. When I try to show it t to my hubby, his respond was, "what's the point of reading then?"

Touché but still, I'll consider it. 

pearlie

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Debunking myths of what you thought you knew

 BFM Podcast: Heart Disease, Diabetes & Hypertension Epidemic - Debunking Myths

My hubby insisted that I listen to this podcast by BFM and so I did. It's very good and I found many helpful tips and information.

For one, it is a health talk that is relevant to us as Malaysians and it comes with funny and self-deprecative anecdotes from the speakers including remarks on how health problems differs between the Malay, Indian and Chinese ethic races in the country that was quite insightful. 

What I also found useful was a short reference to the latest fad on virgin coconut oil. I have been recommended to take it regularly to lose weight and improve my health but I wanted more information and proof before I go all out on it, especially when it is a decision I would not be able to undo. 

It was a question from the floor and the dietitian replied with a remark that oil is not something that we drink! I totally agree with that. She said even if you do choose to do it, you need to keep it within the 30% of your daily calories intake. 

It was just a short reply to the question but I finally know how to search for what I need to know in the Internet. I have been googling it but all I get are websites purporting the benefits of virgin coconut oil. But now, I searched for a dietitian's advice and found this useful website with good information. 

My decision on coconut oil would be a no. Can you imagine taking something that is 92% saturated fats? And even though it is good in certain ways compared to the other oils, I don't think it will be a good idea to take three whole tablespoons a day. There is not enough empirical proof to its benefits nor has there been a study of its side effects. 

So in order to lose weight, I'd take the doctor's advice in the podcast anytime, that is to reduce food intake portions by half and exercise regularly. 

Of course, easier said than done though. 

pearlie

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Yung Kee: the best beef brisket noodles in KL

 

We had an early Grace Notes practice today being a public holiday and after practice, someone suggested we go try out this beef brisket noodles for lunch.

It was really good. 

Here's an article about it which tells almost the whole story and it's a nice story too though I'm not sure what's the story behind the cook being labeled as lazy. I don't quite follow. The writer just mentioned it out of the blue. 

But like the article said, it is most probably the best beef brisket noodles in KL. You must try it.

I am surely going there again but in the weekend to try the wagyu beef noodles and the strip loin one as well. 

Yung Kee Beef Noodles
Restaurant Kwai Hup
24, Jalan Kancil
Off Jalan Landak
Pudu
Kuala Lumpur 
Open: 8am to 3.30pm
(On Saturdays and Sundays, they usually finish by 2pm)

pearlie

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

A Thousand Words #185

 

I was in the office manning the help desk for our new system the whole day today and was working with two screens. Thankfully, just two. 

pearlie

Monday, June 20, 2016

Inside Out ★★★★☆


I am not sure why this cartoon is called Inside Out, and I didn't know about the animated movie until my colleague told me about it a few weeks ago, and even then I kept forgetting about it. I finally watched it today.

I just found out that it won many awards including the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, Critics' Choice Award, Annie Award, and Satellite Award for Best Animated Feature, and I haven't heard of it? 

But I loved it, and by the end of the movie, I was bawling. It surely got emotional watching a movie about personified emotions. 

It's about a girl, Riley Andersen, who had to manage life changes when she moved from Minnessota to San Francisco. The five base emotions in charge in her brain were Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger. 

It was fun watching these emotions working together. They are not inherently bad, they are pure emotions. Sadness is sad and Anger is angry. Fear is fearful and useful to help avert accidents and Disgust is disgusted. Joy is the de-facto leader in charge of making Riley's life happy. She puts herself to work full time to ensure all is good. 

But what is important for them to realize is that no one emotion governs the others. They are all important for a complete life. For Riley to have a happy life, all five emotions need to work together. 

It is a good story but the one observation I have is that values are missing, but of course for a cartoon, that may be complicating it all, though it would have been a richer story if a value center were included, don't you think?

pearlie

Sunday, June 19, 2016

My favourite tea

The tea section and aisles are my favourite place in a grocery store. I love to just go and look at the display when I'm at the store even if I don't buy any. It's because I have been buying so much tea that I have stopped doing that for awhile until I finish them, which I nearly have.

I only have some peppermint and genmai cha left. And so I started stocking up again with my favourites.


Twinnings Lady Grey Tea


Dilmah Rose with French Vanilla



Dilmah Pure Peppermint Leaves

pearlie

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Wonderful things of the world #1: Forelle Pears

 

I would like to start a series called Wonderful Things of the World. It all began one afternoon some weeks ago when I was at the office. It was lunch time but I felt like just having fruits. So off I went to the grocery store and bought a Forelle pear. It was quite a sizable one and it was so yummy. 

What a wonderful thing that God has made. 

I was at the morning market today. I drove my son to college this morning and on the way back, I thought I'd find a place for a good breakfast, and ended up having a good stroll in the busy morning market in OUG. 

And at the fruit stall, there it was: a whole pile of Forelle pears, and I bought ten. It was RM10 for five, but I felt five was too few. Ten was too many, but who's counting. 

pearlie

Friday, June 17, 2016

Please be my strength



This is a song I like to listen and sing with, especially when I feel I need God so much to be my strength, especially when I don't have much of it anymore.

Please be my strength by Gungor
I’ve tried to stand my ground
I’ve tried to understand
But I can’t seem to find my faith again
Like water on the sand
Or grasping at the wind
I keep on falling short

Please be my strength
Please be my strength
Cause I don’t have anymore
I don’t have anymore

I’m looking for a place
That I can plant my faith
One thing I know for sure
I cannot create it
I cannot sustain it
It’s Your love that’s keeping me

Please be my strength
Please be my strength
Cause I don’t have anymore
I don’t have anymore

At my final breath
I hope that I can say
I’ve fought the good fight of faith
I pray your glory shines
Through this doubting heart of mine
So my world would know that You

You are my strength
You and You alone
You and You alone
Keep bringing me back home

pearlie

Thursday, June 16, 2016

I'm a copier creative director



We spent a day testing a business simulation game and I guess I was appointed the creative director. Not that I am an artist, not at all. I'm just able to find suitable thing online to copy! 

We had so much fun. And yeah, our group won. 

pearlie

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

M Boutique Hotel Ipoh - a photographer's haven

When we were deciding where to stay while we were planning our Ipoh trip, we found this most interesting hotel - M Boutique Hotel Ipoh. When we arrived, we found that it's a shop terrace kind of hotel but with the most interesting, rustic and quaint decor - just my type.


M Boutique Hotel Ipoh (photo from agoda.com)


The hotel address (photo from agoda.com)


The rooms booked for us were the small ones - very small ones. Perfect for one, very tight for two. No way for a family of three.


I tried to take a panoramic picture of it. Don't be deceived by the size as shown here. The width of the room is the width of the curtains.


Here is how it looks from my bed - horse theme.


I love the rustic wardrobe.


The chandelier in my room.


The wooden horse I wish I could take home with me.


The bathroom is small, just like home. I would want mine like this too. (photo from agoda.com)


The waiting area, ground floor, when we arrived in the evening.


The back entrance to the carpark area.


The reading room at the first floor.


Coffee house in the morning where we had our breakfast.


The mini shop at the coffee house.


At the entrance to the coffee house.


Waiting area in the morning.


The reception and check in counter. Their staff are nice and friendly.


The waiting area and reception counter.


Even their toilet sink is interesting.


The hotel souvenir shop where we did spend quite a lot of time in and a fair bit of money as well.

We hope to be back real soon.

pearlie

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

The Light Hotel Seberang Jaya

 

We were in Butterworth for work and checked into the newest hotel - The Light Hotel Seberang Jaya. It was a good hotel. 

To me, pillows and beds are the most tricky things for hotels to get it right. Having a good night sleep depends a lot on it. I have stayed in hotels where they do give a selection of different kinds of pillows. That was not an option in The Light but I've had the best sleep since I've left home. The bed and especially the pillows were just right for me. 

My bedroom for the night

pearlie 

Monday, June 13, 2016

An incident on the road

 

I was traveling from Penang to Ipoh when a truck I was overtaking had an explosion in one of its tyres. I am so thankful we are alright. The driver did not lose control of the truck. It slowed down and stopped at the shoulder of the road and I drove on. I felt something did hit my car. I stopped at the next available rest area to check. It was alright. Only the side of the door was marked with a dark spot where I think it got hit by rubber. Most importantly, we are ok. 

When I shared this with my colleagues at work, our health and safety manager sent us the above picture with the following:

When passing large lorries especially trailers, pass quickly. Make sure that it is safe to pass, do it on a straight road and not when nearing a turn-off or junction. Make it easy for the driver to see you and provide you space. 

Do not linger alongside a trailer lorry as it is very risky. Incidents of heavy vehicle tyre blowouts is becoming more frequent, and it can cause flying tire debris and cargo to be flung towards you, or the heavy vehicle may swerve and lose control. Either way, your life can be in serious danger.

Stay alert and cautious when driving near big lorries or trailers as sharing the road with them can be dangerous if you are not aware of the hazards.

I thank God for the safe journey. 

pearlie

Sunday, June 12, 2016

I can now really study paintings




I wasn't feeling that well today and so I was home. iFlix wasn't working and I checked out the videos in TED and found this: Every piece of art you've ever wanted to see -- up close and searchable by Amir Sood, Director of Google's Cultural Institute and Art Project. 

It's a must-watch. He and his team has basically made most of the priceless art and paintings of the world, about 6 million artifacts, accessible in high definition to anyone with a computer or device and internet connection. Having not visited any art museums before, I had not understood why people can stare at a painting for hours on end. I think I can now understand. 

Take this piece of art for example, a piece I've recently found interest in: The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.


Here is how deep you can view in the Google Art and Culture website. This is the bottom left corner of the painting at only about 65% zoom, not even 100%. Look at the high definition detail. It's just amazing. My colleague who is into art tells me she can't even get to see to such detail in a gallery. 


And only now do I see this spot where workers were resting whilst others were still working. 


If you check it out in the website, you'll notice that this painting brings us so many scenes to discover, from the sleepy town to the busy port, and the workers in the tower to the prince of the town. 

Do watch the TED video. There is so much more to it. 

But I had to stop using the website for now because my eyes, which have been deteriorating as I grow older, can't focus anymore. Sigh...the bane of getting old with various parts of the body going from bad to worse. 

But I now have a brand new hobby. Amit Sood said, "It doesn't matter how you get in. Once you get in, you're hooked." I certainly am!

pearlie

Saturday, June 11, 2016

I think I have misophonia

I realize I cannot stand repetitive sounds. They drive me up the wall. I woke up this morning to exactly that and it irritated me so much but I couldn't get it to stop. I did not even know what sound it was. It sounded like a drill or a bird but with its steady incessant steady beat, I'm not sure. 

I checked it out online and found that I may have this condition called misophonia. "People with the disorder are not bothered by the loudness of sound — rather, the softer, repetitive, common sounds are the ones that drive them up the wall."1

I found that this is such a common problem that there is a website all about it: www.misophonia.com. There is a self-test available with the different levels of the condition and I think I'm between a level 4 and 5 - not very serious but bad enough for me. 

I am ok with white noise or people talking all around me, like when I'm in a Chinese restaurant which by the way is one of the noisiest places in the ordinary world. But I really get irritated with repetitive sounds that keep to an incessant beat. Argghh!!!

pearlie

Friday, June 10, 2016

I was finally at Inside Scoop



One of my colleagues had been talking non-stop about ice cream from Inside Scoop. She kept bringing it up whenever we were out for lunch break. 

I was out with my parents for dinner this evening when it crossed my mind to pay a visit to a nearby outlet. 

She was absolutely right. The ice cream here is extremely good. I've not eaten anything better, especially its dark Valrhona chocolate ice cream. It was awesome and so delicious. And I'm one who do not like chocolate ice cream. 

It was so good my dad finished the one scoop I ordered for us to share and he did not say no to an offer of a second helping and we bought the last scoop available. 

Can't wait for our next visit!

pearlie

Thursday, June 09, 2016

Miracles of the Human Language



I was researching for some online language courses for work purpose when I found this very interesting course in Coursera - 
Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics by Universiteit Leiden & Meertens instituut. 

I don't know much about linguistics but languages fascinates me and so I signed up. Classes have already begun but thankfully just over the week and felt I could easily catch up, which I did. I started two days ago and finished all the video lectures and discussion questions yesterday. I completed the test today, though there are still two nagging questions which I could not figure out the answers to, even after many attempts. 

I learnt that language is a very unique human activity and for a language to be a true language, it needs to fulfil three characteristics:
1. Discrete infinity - the ability to produce an infinite number of phrases and sentences using a finite and discrete system like the English alphabet of 26 letters
2. Displacement - the ability to talk about things out of time and space
3. Joint attention - the ability to cooperate when we speak to each other, to understand and add on to the conversation

But there were two questions that linguists ask which they keep saying that they do not have an answer to, which to me, being a creationist and a Christian have no problems answering: when and where did language originate from? God created us with a language; and if language is so important to humanity, why is there so many different languages? The tower of Babel obviously. 

They certainly would not agree but to me those are plain facts. And as what Dallas Willard has said, "
We live in a culture that has, for centuries now, cultivated the idea that the skeptical person is always smarter than than the one who believes. You can almost be as stupid as a cabbage as long as you doubt."

And what is interesting is this: in wanting to load a picture here, I went to Coursera to see what was used for this course. Isn't it an irony that they have used the picture of an oil painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder entitled The Tower of Babel (c.1563)?

pearlie

Wednesday, June 08, 2016

The Flimsiness of Our Lives and the Weight of His Glory

I think my fellow partners in the recent production of Handel's Messiah would be quite amused that I am still listening to the choruses! They would have moved on but I am still happily listening and singing along with it.

For one, I will be singing the Part 1 of The Messiah in the KL Wesley choir this coming Christmas season and we have started on our practice and rehearsal. The other reason is because this piece of music is just so wonderfully amazing, profound and brilliant. The musical movements and melody are unequaled. And on top of that, I simply love to sing this kind of music - sacred, oratorio, classical. And the fact that I know the soprano part and all the lyrics is a boon for me because I can sing along in car--my "studio"--as I commute to and fro work. All the 22 choruses!

And this morning, as I was listening and singing to All We Like Sheep, I recalled what our conductor said about it.

All We Like Sheep Have Gone Astray
The Messiah, by Handel

This chorus is found in Part 2 of the oratorio, where it is centered on the death and suffering of Jesus. Paul, our conductor, remarked why on earth would Handel interject amidst the seriousness of all the arias and choruses in the Part 2 with something so flimsy as this. I know I did say something in reply but I cannot remember exactly what I said.

But as I thought more about it this morning, it is even more apparent to me why Handel did it. And he was a genius for doing so. The very message is in the words and the music of the song. 

The lyrics of the first part of the chorus are: "All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way." It is then followed by a complete change of mood in the music (2:42) when the lyrics moved on to "And the Lord hath laid on Him, the iniquity of us all."

It is a fact that we are like sheep and we have gone astray from God. And the music depicted that perfectly in how we live our lives in flimsiness, aimlessness and indifference. Note how the word "astray" and "turned" is sung: erratic and shifty.

And then comes the magnitude and the gravity of what God has done for us, that he has laid on Jesus the weight of all our sin.

Isn't that amazing, the message of the Gospel, how God saved us from our own calamity, and how Handel has so beautifully brought it out?

pearlie

Tuesday, June 07, 2016

Frustrations in getting train tickets from KTM

Following our trip to the south for work last week, my colleague and I were contemplating taking the new express train on our next journey to the north.

I found that I could purchase tickets online but there was a problem - I could not purchase them in a set. I am required to pay separately for tickets from KL to Butterworth, from Butterworth to Ipoh, and from Ipoh to KL. I refused to do that because after purchasing for the first leg of the trip, I might not be successful in getting tickets for the subsequent legs.

Phone calls made to the KTM ticket centers were to no avail - no one picked up the phone.

So we decided to take the monorail from our office to KL Sentral today to buy the tickets in person.

Results? Zilch!

We had to take a number to buy the tickets and we got the number 3552, whereas the number they were serving then were 3458! That is 94 people away! We took a walk around KL Sentral to pass time but when we got back about an hour later, they have only served 20 or so people. So we decided to just give up on the train and take the car instead. So much for wanting to do some reading on the train.

Maybe the timing was not right for us with it being the Ramadhan month and many would be getting tickets to return to their home town in the coming Hari Raya break. But whatever it is, if they had a good online purchasing system, the experience would have been good instead of bad.

I really love train rides, but alas, it's not to be.

pearlie

Monday, June 06, 2016

Lewis (TV Series 2006-2015)


I was kind of running out of thing to watch in iFlix when I chanced upon this TV series called Lewis. It started quite slow, unlike the fast moving American crime-busting shows. My hubby actually shunned it after watching a few minutes of it. But I found it intelligent and witty. 

It has nine seasons in total, each consisting of three to four 90-minute-or-so episodes, and I have just completed Season 1. I am quite pleased with it.

The show is a detective drama about Inspector Robert Lewis and Sergeant James Hathaway who investigate and solve murder mysteries against the backdrop of the Oxford University. 

Rotten Tomatoes does not have any critic reviews of it but it's viewer reviews gave it a 100% thumbs up.

And there are nine season! With each episode the length of two, I shall be slowly savoring this.

I can't and I shan't rush it. 

pearlie