Pecking woes...

When I said on my Facebook I'm like an awkward teenager at Social Functions; I wasn't kidding....

I said remark right after attending a Press Conference with my boss at one of those Celebrity studded Charity Event organized by an ex-Beauty Pageant! Eeekkk ! I told myself "Ok, Let's do this! Let's slap some make up on and dress decently!" Who am I kidding right ??

To start with, my car battery died on me that moment I was all dressed and ready to go. So, I had to walk out to the main road to hitch a cab, which means, no heels! I actually went to the Event in my sandals!! Gaaahhh!!! 

My second Gaaahhh came when the Organizer, a stylish and good looking guy came out to greet me; I was happy to just shake hands saying "Hi!! How are you ?!" but he leaned and did the greeting peck thingy which I always had a problem with... I had read about kiss-greeting Etiquettes thingy and some say the lips never touch the face and although some peck on one side of the cheek, most people do both cheeks...  The left cheek went fine but my awkward movements made me slam my face to he's right cheek !! Argghhh!! I hope he's jaw didn't hurt !! 8-|  Oh Gawd....

A little red-faced, I sat there feeling so small, watching all the Beautiful, tall, graceful Models/ Actresses / Socialites giggle, greet each other with pecks on the cheek, take photos and flit about like little butterflies....

How Obama & Hillary does it....

... How Alicia Keys & whatshisface does it....

Sarkozy ?.....

Let's not do it the Doggie-way.... !

Working in an NGO, I realized I've developed, unconsciously, the habit of under-dressing for any occasion. Yes, I'm guilty of wearing tank tops and shorts to work and sometimes not even putting make-up for meetings! *sigh*

Years of low self esteem only made it worse for me. I grew up pretty much convinced I wouldn't excel in anything, and let's not even start about how I feel about my own looks! Although, friends keep telling me how everyone has some bit of insecurity in them, yeah maybe... Possibly in different scales...?

When it comes to contact, I maintain a healthy distance from people. I mean physical distance. Any people in their right mind would keep their hands to themselves right ? Funnily, I've also met some people with habits of making any form of physical contact while talking ie: touching hands, thighs or slapping some part of other person's body part etc which is ok if it is a close friend but there are people who have no qualms touching a stranger.

It could be the person is plain "Ham Sup" (pervert) or probably just lacks Social skills...

It could also be an act of invading a person's Personal Space. I remember reading the book Body Language by Allan Pease and he explained in this book that the distance of 46cm to 1.2m is your Personal Zone, which anything nearer than that is your Intimate Zone. Therefore anyone coming that close within that proximity is in fact, in an Intimate Zone with you! Which would be fine is it is somebody familiar, if it were not, it'd be sexual harassment...

Also interesting is the fact that Cultural factors do affect Zones Distance; A city dweller is said to have a smaller Intimate Zone as compared to a rural Country dweller! For example if you were to observe an American and a Japanese having a discussion, the American would tend to lean closer whereas the Japanese would take a step back and keep a distance.

Consciously or unconsciously, there are a lot of people who have not read of such things yet are aware of such knowledge by instinct. Which suprises me how some people can be so pushy and invade a persons' Intimate Zone.

So, if you do meet me one day and if I did not lean forward to give you a peck on the cheek, please don't think I'm uptight or being a Snob.. I simply just respect your Personal Zone !!

But would I call it a Glamorous Job ?

But Guess what!? I'm being Interviewed by a local Chinese radio station together with local boybank ThomasJack this Sunday ...

              These pretty boys gonna make me look like an Old Cougar...

I remember watching this water-heater Commercial in between American Idol and Glyn laughed and said "God, what a dumb Commercial ! " 

However for the past 2 years, the people that I had the opportunity to meet had been totally Awesome and possibly would not have the opportunity to meet have I stayed in other Industries!

I remember my second week in the job; our team had the honour to meet the late Yasmin Ahmad who directed SPCA’s Public Service Announcement ‘Adopt a Miracle”. I was so nervous and must’ve looked like a damn fool! Yasmin must’ve noticed and spoke to me in Cantonese, “Chor-lah, Leng Lui !” (Have a seat!) Man, I was dumb-struck!





And also, what kind of job would give you the chance to meet Amber Chia almost three times !!? 

              Paying the price for my sloppiness; Standing next to Amber with no make-up can send any woman's self-esteem dive off a cliff !
                                 

Together with the crew of Spotlight Magazine

So apart from daily tasks such as making sure all our Office animals (6 dogs, 14 cats) are fed, cleaned and had some form of exercise/ Enrichment whilst on top of that, each colleague has their own job scope. For me it will be Merchandising and Customer Service cum tea lady. Still, everyone takes turn to clean Poo and by now all of us are skilled with Poo Analysis; It’s part of our job!


Of course, it’s not exactly “rosy” everyday either. You do have to deal with Haters and Hate-mail from time to time. There’s a fine line between loving animals and thinking you know what’s best for them. Also, everyone in the Organization has the duty to educate a child and explain to him/her in front of their embarassed parents why they shouldn't be kicking an animal in a cage, taunt, poke, yell in shrill voices and making funny faces at a terrified cat is horribly wrong... and likewise, to educate parents why it is a bad idea simply adopt an animal for their 4 year old as a toy with the hope of educating their child the Miracle of childbirth to save themselve the trouble of trying to explain about Sex Education ...

Sounds glamorous??! Nooo.... I wouldn’t even dare to think.... !

SPIDER-KORU !!

No, i din't willingly agree to go climbing with them but somehow that was the day, koru-chann became Spiderman! It was an absolutely unforgettable experience in my whole life! When the wake-up call came at 5.30a.m. from my cousin Winnie i grunted & moaned that i didn't wanna go... Nobody like Koru gets up at 5.30am to go mountain climbing!!

So with a heavy heart, me & Felix met up with the rest; Jenny & Ding Hui were late and Johnny wasn't amused. So we were introduced to Uncle Ronnie & Little that i know, he was the one who was gonna save our sorry asses on that treacherous mountain.... So we were informed that the mountain halfway through our feat was that the mountain stands at 480feet above sea-level ! I think my face turned green immediately but th e true horror was by far, much worse...

Who would've thought? In the midst of Taman Melawati there were two huge mountains sheltering a dam/ lake. So we began our climb, hmmm, piece of cake, thats what everyone thought except Johnny & Uncle Ronnie. If its like this all the way we could be downhill having our lunch by noon ! What a huge freaking disappointment we were about to face! The initial climbs were simple. Grab hold of a rock/crack/ secure your footing, & heave urself up. It really felt like being a Spiderman! It went up all the way to about the 150th feet or so, then the challenges really starts! All the climbing was just actually a warm up for tougher things ahead! When we stopped for a short break, Winnie threw up. The whole thing might've make her feel so sick. Things weren't going so great...

The 1st horror came in the form of a rope! We had to scale down the cliff about 1.5feet down and cross over to the next hill. You will have to hang on to the knotted rope and lower your body down. It looks really simple. But when it came to my turn i really freaked out. The fact that your entire back is exposed to 200 over feet below and your life hanging on that rope really isn't very comforting... Uncle Ronnie saved my life, he gave excellent directions “Now left feet land on this crack, right feet step over the other side ...” When it came to Winnie's turn she freaked! Her wailing led us no choice, Uncle Ronnie had to detour & took her an alternative route. Safe & sound, she threw up again.... At this point, even a Labrador named Carlton couldn't go on any further...

The climb got harder as we progressed. The altitude made me dizzy. The feat now is body balancing. The steps are narrower & slanting, if you lose a step, you're gonna lose your life. My confidence was waning... Then, i got stuck at my next climb. Ding Hui, Felix & me were leading, so Ding Hui made the climb 1st, I followed suit. I was halfway then i realized, shit, I cudn't find a secure grip and my feet was too short to swing across a protruding rock that was blocking my body... I yelled for help, Uncle Ronnie again came to the rescue! Felix managed to climb up ahead of me & was trying to pull me up. GOD my hands are actually sweating as I'm typing this! I was worried if he dragged me & if i failed to secure a grip i might pull Felix down to hell with me. I was also afraid my leg cramps would hit again. Uncle Ronnie said terrifying things like “Ok, I'm going to push your foot now, YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE YOU LAND YOUR FEET UP ON THIS STEP” Knowing if i fail, it could sent thre e of us tumbling down the mountain too...

I marveled at Uncle Ronnie! He was excellently agile & swift for his age! He could balance himself on anything! He was sitting on an old dead tree branch with his back exposed to the cliff by a meter! That freaked the hell outta me! I nervously told Uncle Ronnie not to sit like that! He said ohh No sweat! Its very strong and was bouncing on it!! Watching him made my legs turned to jelly.... ;( He would point out spots eagerly told us where climbers fell off, he said “Yeah, they found the guy, but dead for sure”, much to our horor. Slowly I began having difficulties to concentrate on my balancing. My temper was rising & i was trembling. It was about 300 over feet, the view was AMAZING! You would never have thought KL is such a gorgeous place... We took many photos with the Dam behind us... Absolutely beautiful !!

At 410 feet, Uncle Ronnie pointed our last peak to conquer... Shaped like a turned bowl... and there lies the second part to cross using ropes! This time i really froze. Terrified. I was the last to go, they encouraged me how easy it is, but i found hanging in the air at 410feet above sea-level, very disturbing. My numbed hands held on the rope for dear life. My life depended on it. I managed to cross over somehow by God's Grace. I was agitated with very very little energy left. At this point of time, Uncle Ronnie sat down for a break. He said some wise words that really hit my senses. He said, at the end of this you will be so proud of yourself. You have successfully conquered your own self. Many would have given up, but in those dangerous moments you are still able to look out for your team mates & care for them, you'd have reached an exceptional level. This climb builds character, most importantly, Patience. Patience by not blaming others. I smiled. If he only knew what was in my head....

The remaining 70ft up was very narrow, the sand so fine, looked like snow! All 8 of us, we made it to the top!! Quite exhilarating. But i guess were more excited to get out of the place. So the good news is, going down through the plantation only takes an hour... and the bad news is its so steep, your shoes might split. We couldn't wait to leave! We scrambled down immediately, Felix, Ding Hui & me leading. Uncle Ronnie warned us of bee swarms, so just be careful he said... Phew.. After 30mins i was walking like a crab- Sideways. My toes were hurting too much & knees bruised cos I'd squat low when it steep. Going downhill was equally tough! I whined & whined to Felix how many cartons of Ribena I'm gonna go buy....


We were parched... Winnie was walking with a stick, Din g Hui walked without shoes on, Yew Kuang walked barefoot while I was already limping... Our luck turned for the worse, it started raining!! According Johnny, if it rains, we'd be stuck! But we decided to risk it & carried on through the heavy pour... All of us soaked wet, cold & utterly miserable. I cursed myself for wearing a white T-shirt! Its been awhile since I've walke d in the rain and the process slowed us down further. We walked in the heavy rain for about an hour! At some points, Uncle Ronnie told us to keep very quiet... There were dangers of wild boars and Orang Asli. “Just a little more, we're almost there” Uncle Ronnie announced to our delight... Finally we were out of the plantation! We took shade at a house porch wiping ourselves , peeling leeches that were feasting away... There it was, a tiny one hanging on to me for dear life... Oh boy....

As I was supposed to be due at Kajang since 10a.m. I made a dash with Felix, planning to get to the nearest Petrol Station ASAP! He was kind enough to drive as my leg cramps made an attack... We were having KFC 10mins later, I told him, “This is the best tasting KFC I've ever had i my whole life! “ The fact that I was alive & sipping ice-cold ice lemon tea in the car while he drove, I couldn't stop thanking the Lord !~

When i got home I hugged & kissed all my teddy bears! I was overjoyed to see them! I tried to sleep but I just could not sleep a wink! My body was in shock and albeit the sores everywhere, I could not believe what i actually did accomplish! Being terrified of heights I had actually scaled a 480 ft mountain... Way to go koru-chann! 8-)