Pages

Sunday 28 October 2012

A Morning at Court

More random posting.

I'm sitting here in the PJ Magistrate Court with nothing much to do while waiting for 9am and for things to begin. So, I blog :P

Oh, and while I'm at it, I should mention that I wrote a perfectly good review blog last week BUT my Blogger app did a boo-boo and half of it has disappeared. Long story. Anyhow, not having saved my draft thinking it was all good and published, I have to put it together once more. Hang in there, it's coming, it's coming...

The trip to court today was a spur of the moment thing - I didn't plan to tag along but since one of my colleagues needed company, here I am.. haha. Thank goodness for good ol' pen, paper (for drafting.. I'm trying to preserve my phone's battery), and my ever faithful Galaxy S. What would we do to pass time if there was no internet on-the-go?

It's only my second time sitting in on mentions altho' I have waited outside a few times. This court, Mahkamah Majistret 5, is a pretty small space. You've got the magistrate's bench, interpreter's table, prosecutors/defence's desk (probably fits 6 people), long seat behind it, witness and accused stands, and another row of seats for those waiting about (namely, me). It's air-conditioned, has mic and speakers which is good coz it's darn hot in KL and I can barely hear some of these people without the PA system. Oh oh, don't forget the CCTVs too.

There are a few things to note about court:
  1. The Magistrate is 'da Boss' in their court room
  2. Black and white formal clothing is essential for the Prosecuting Officers (PO) and Defense Lawyers
  3. Witnesses and the public who are there to observe are exempted from the 'black & white' rule, but your attire must be decent (a girl wearing a rather lacy/see-thru blouse was shoo'd out of the court room by the Magistrate the last time I was there... yikes! total embarrassment...)
  4. Make sure your phone is off or totally silent
  5. Don't sit with your legs crossed - you'll be subtly reprimanded by the guards
  6. Everytime the Magistrate comes in or out, stand and bow as a sign of respect. Actually, I've observed that if someone inside the court wishes to leave while the Magistrate is still there, they would bow in her direction just before leaving the room.
  7. The officers will always begin by saying "dengan izin Tuan/Puan" (with your permission Sir/Madam)
I suspect there are still lots of things which I don't know and have yet to learn about etiquette at court. The good thing about tagging along is that I'll get more exposure and pick up bits along the way. The not so good part is that they (my more senior officers) would think that I know stuff and ask me to mention a case at some point in the future *gulp*. That thought totally freaks me out.

You're probably wondering why we're in court anyway. I mean, we're not lawyers right? Wrong! Pharmacists do everything. Lol. Yes, a number of us will investigate certain offences contravening our Acts (usually those related to advertisement of meds or devices with medical claims without approval, adulterated/ unregistered products, etc) and therefore, we are the ones to bring the cases to court.

Damn. And here I was thinking that a pharmacist's main role is to dispense medication and educate patients. How was I to guess that one day I may have to be a PO?

Life is weird and unexpected.

9.13am.

We've just been informed that the Magistrate is in a meeting. Oh well, we'll just have to wait then won't we? ;)

Signing off now. Til next time, adieu.

xoxo~

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Temptations @ Ikano Power Centre, KL

Hello hello...

Darn, a week has zoomed by so quickly! How remiss of me to allow this baby blog of mine to gather dust, huhu..

Last Thursday evening, my sis & I were supposed to go to a dinner talk at Le Meridian. We did attempt to go but the traffic was horrendous.. and I mean, absolutely horrendous! Of course, we wanted to be productive in the car, in the dark, so we tried to capture that 'moment' on camera... haha..


Anyhow...

The main point of the story is that we detoured to The Curve (& subsequently, Ikano Power Centre) for some much needed energy booster.. which was when we came across this lil stall called "Temptations".

It's situated right in front of The Brands Outlet. It's one of many simple stalls out there but it deserves a mention because... *drumroll please*... it sells hair accessories! Gorgeous lil things, apparently from Bali. 

Guess what I got for myself? Hair extensions...yippeee! 

I never thought there'd be a day when I'd be buying extensions. I should have known it could happen, but... it was so sudden! I saw it, I liked it, andddd I bought it lol.


They had a whole array to choose from... straight, curled, blonde, brown, red, etc. I was lucky that I came across one which was the same colour as my hair.. It has little clips along the top of the extension so you can put it on and take it off very easily, and without much fuss. The grip is pretty good too since I managed to wear it quite comfortably from 7am to 5pm at the office today ;) Who in their right mind wears extensions to office?? Oh right, girls who normally change their hair colour every season to avoid boredom & sadly, don't have that option anymore (office rules)... aka.. moi :P


Looks pretty real, doesn't it? A lot of people commented that my hair has grown real quick, or they asked where I curled my hair... Haha! So sweet :D 

I'll take a pic of the extension itself tomorrow. Forgot about that. Duh.

So far so good. Price was affordable (RM69 for mine, RM16 for the smaller pieces). It's supposed to last forever and ever, and they'll even repair the clip for you if it gets ruined with use. Somehow, I doubt the forever part but, I'll not argue lol. According to the sales girl, you can wash the extensions with hair conditioner and brush it with a special type of hairbrush. Hmm... I'm thinking i'll skip the washing. I have a suspicion it's going to get all tangled and icky after I wash it... or even brush it, for that matter, huuu... 

Hmm.. that's all for now. If I remember anything else, I'll update this post when I'm more awake ;) 

Cam-whoring in the car, while waiting for Uma to go home. I know I know, it all looks the same.. I blame it on the pedestrians making me feel self-conscious :P 


xoxo~

Tuesday 9 October 2012

Mission: Zero Credit Card debt..yeaah!

Ohmigosh, I didn't realise how long it has been since my last post... really, what happened to Time??? Oh wait, don't answer that.. (k-drama, k-drama & Lee Jun-ki fever...huhu)...

Ahem.. Anyway, moving on..

At the start of every year, I would usually sit down & write out my new year's resolution or To Do List. You may wonder why I'm suddenly talking about this, I mean, it's not the end of the year nor is it the beginning of a new year. Well, as it turns out, I came across my list about a week ago hidden away in a Catch note file on my phone, huhu..


Item #1: Pay off all creadit card bills/debts

Yeah. Right. It's already October and my bills aren't getting any smaller *sigh* It was those series of unexpected expenses which totally threw me off budget. Once you've crossed the line and signed for more than you can pay in a month, your trouble begins. Yup. Take it from someone who has experienced it firsthand *gulp*. So, I've decided to take a major step - I'm taking a personal loan to pay it off, wheeee...

It probably sounds a bit odd - taking a debt to pay off another debt but if you think about it, most personal loans have an interest rate which is a LOT lower than credit card interest rates. Go have a look at your statements.. you'll agree with me then. 

If I take a loan big enough to clear off all of my outstanding balance (and whatever I plan to purchase within the next couple of months), I would be able to start afresh and only spend money which I have on hand (or, I know I will have by the time Pay Day arrives). 

I'd do the math here, but it might bore you. I'm pretty good at complexly weird only-I-can-understand-it math formulas..haha! 

In conclusion, *ahem again*, if you don't like the look of your credit card and bank statement balance, take action ASAP! The longer you put it off, the more tedious it would be to clear up the mess. Although I'm not exactly thrilled to be tied to a 2-year commitment, but I know this is a positive step for me. The loan isn't much, just enough to clear it all & save some. I'm a girl on a mission! lol.

Will let you know if my plan works after..umm..6 months? 1 year? Lol!

Wish me luck! 

xoxo~

Tuesday 2 October 2012

Kdrama 2012: Faith... with Lee Min-ho! :D

Yes, I have the Blogger app installed on my phone so that I can blog on the go...like now, lol.
I was screening today's The Star paper and look what I found - "Doctor Gangnam-style", an article about the currently airing time travel kdrama Faith.... *aaahhhhhhh... Lee Min-ho, saranghaeyo!*



I'll update this post when I get home.
Back to work I go...whooosh! ;)
xoxo~
*** Update:

I hope you can read the article in the pic above.. it's a pretty good summary of the drama. I've watched up to episode 14 and I highly recommend it...hehe. Why? 

1) Lee Min-ho is SO cool in this drama! I watched Boys over Flowers before and I wasn't super duper impressed or attracted to Min-ho there, BUT I'm really loving how he acts out his character in this story. He has this total disregard for authority attitude, portraying a really intelligent, honorable and skilled General, who does have quite the temper but who cares about that when he's extremely good-looking? ;D 

2) Kim Hee-sun is the perfect lead actress. She's an adorably funny cosmetic surgeon with a lotta spunk. I thought it would be a bit awkward having the lead actress be 10 years older than the leading man (like in The Moon Embraces the Sun), however, the two of them have great chemistry and I really didn't notice the age gap while watching the show.. I was rather surprised when Wikipedia told me so, lol.

3) I like that this story has a plot... as in, it's not just another love story. Yes, it does have some element of romance (altho' at episode 14, there hasn't been many obvious scenes but you know that the feeling is there, just waiting to blossom *cough cough*). It makes me want to know what's gonna happen next. To be honest, it was such a gripping drama that I watched all 14 episodes overnight. I simply couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen.

4) The cast members fit their characters very well. I don't think there's anyone that I felt didn't fit in, they all acted out their roles very believably. And somehow, I felt like they introduced lil conflicts here and there that were really relatable. For example, Eun-soo is a doctor but before her 'journey' to the past, she only cared about treating the illness without sparing much emotion or empathy for her patients. Not to say that she's cold, but, there's more to treating a patient than merely stitching them up and giving them pills - you need to soothe their 'spirit', if you catch my drift. There's more, but I'll let you watch it to find out ;) 

5) Episode 15 is out today... I just can't wait for more!!!! 

The only downside to this show that I could think of is that it does contain some rather gruesome fighting scenes. Just a bit. Maybe it will appeal to the male population or action lovers as the choreography is beautiful and rather awesome, but, I find it a wee bit on the violent side at times.  The other thing I dislike, is that after 24 episodes there won't be any more :'(

***More Updates: Spoilers ahead.

- Faith has a happy ending..yay!! It's satisfying, and yet, not quite. Lol. I guess the only drama that I am completely satisfied with the ending is Queen In-Hyun's Man (must watch, must must MUST watch!). However, Faith had a decent, happy ending which gives the audience lee-way to make up your own storyline for the character's future..if that makes sense :P

I didn't like how they killed off Doctor Jang in the final 2 episodes, but I suppose it was necessary seeing as he had a surgery planned. But, they could have made a bit more impact seeing as he was quite an important character, i mean, he's the Royal Doctor so they should have made more fuss about it. Sigh.
***


Fun Facts: (with a lil help from Wikipedia)


Currently airing on SBS every Monday and Tuesday at 21:55.

Faith (Hangul:신의; RRShin-eui

Shin-eui (Hanja: 信義) means faith, as in belief in justice. 

In Hangul it also means divine healer or great doctor, a pun on "god" + "medicine", as a play on the medical and the fantastical, two major elements of the world. 

It’s a re-imagining of a what-if version of history, potentially changed on a massive scale by the actions of two individuals. 

Taglines: "Fantasy and history will meet. Person and person will meet. Person and heaven will meet." 

Described as the epic story of those that will shape a king and change the course of fate.


More plot summary: 

Choi Young is a bodyguard to the king (General of the Wudalchi, aka Royal Guard) in the mid-1300s of the Goryeo Dynasty. He’s 29 years old and has no regrets in life, no ambition for women or money, and whose hobby is sleeping. Because he lives a life of no regret and gave up on love to be an unflinching warrior, he’s not afraid of death (there's a reason behind the 'gave up on love') .Choi Young believes that people who don’t fear death needn’t spin their wheels scheming, so he takes that to the extreme — he’s a warrior who doesn’t strategize, so much as attack everything head-on. If he happens to succeed, great; if he fails and dies, so be it.

Yoo Eun-soo is a 33-year old plastic surgeon in the year 2012. She was originally a general surgeon, but quickly found that it was an overworked, under-paid profession and jumped ship to plastic surgery. Her dream is to someday open her own practice. But one day a strange man she thinks is dressed as a drama extra kidnaps her... and takes her back to the Goryeo era. In Goryeo, she is believed to be the apprentice of the famous Chinese surgeon, Hua Tuo and from heaven. Their love story spans centuries but also warring beliefs.

Cast members:
  • Lee Min-ho - General Choi Young
  • Kim Hee-sun - Yoo Eun-soo
  • Yoo Oh-sung - Ki Chul
  • Ryu Deok-hwan - King Gongmin
  • Park Se-yong - Queen Noguk
  • Phillip Lee - Jang Bin
  • Sung Hoon - Chun Eum-ja
  • Shin Eun-jung - Hwasuin
  • Lee Byung-joon - Jo Il-shin
  • Kim Mi-kyung - court lady Choi
  • Baek Kwang-doo - Bae Choong-seok
  • Kim Jong-mun - Oh Dae-man
  • Kang Chang-mook - Deol-bae
  • Yoon Kyun-sang - Deok-man
  • Kim Soo-yun - Deo-ki
  • Jung Yoo-chan - Joo Seok
  • Kwon Min - Ahn Do-chi
  • Ahn Jae-wook - Eun-soo's doctor ex-boyfriend (cameo, ep 1)
  • Oh Kwang-rok - fortune teller (cameo, ep 1)
  • Choi Min-soo - leader of Jeokwoldae (cameo, ep 4)

Written bySong Ji-na
Directed byKim Jong-hak
Shin Yong-hwi
CinematographySeok Deuk-won
Lee Young-cheol