Pleasing Others

It is true that sometimes our inner self has that urge to always please each other. When we do that, indirectly we expect that they will always like the exceptional treatment we give them. If not, we become discourage, upset and moan... most of the time it is that way.

I had my fair share today. Perhaps pleasing others is one of the characteristic that I have. Most of the time, I would hope my parents, my customers, my friend to be pleased. Most of all I service my car to the best I can, so he is pleased when being driven.

Anyway, for now I think I shall make it a point that pleasing myself as the most important agenda. After all, wasn't it that people say, nothing is more important that making ourselves happy?

Where has Dr. Majid gone?

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Uploaded by danachow on 27 Jan '05, 4.32am PST.

This is Dr. Majid, my favourite customer that once work in Biochem and Microbiology Dept in UPM, Serdang. He comes from a far place call Iran, together with his wife. His wife teaches in UPM too.

If you don't know, UPM is a government funded public university. Beside him, lies this machine that is related to my bread and butter. It doesn't really matter what is this machine, but what I really want to talk about is "Where has Dr. Majid gone?"

No one really knows the truth in the lab. He just left one fine day, when most of the students were on holiday. Dr. Majid was anxious because the government would not extend his working permit, instead they wanted him to find way to convert his visa to something else that is harder to apply. He waited for UPM to make him a real lecturer, but time runs out.

He was waiting too, where a job in Singapore Biopolice was promised to him. But no avail.

So, he choose to disappear. Some say he has gone back to Iran, for that he has not seen his mother for the last ten years. Some says he was eventually offered a job in Singapore. I wasn't sure who to believe.

I think I will miss this mentor that taught me so many things. It is not just me, his students been talking about him very often too. Although he can be harsh with them, but they miss his vast knowledge when comes to biotechnology research.

Good bye, Dr. Majid. We hope you will come back again to UPM soon.

Thai Traditional Massage

I always wonder why people, especially men, would be so engrossed about going for a Thai massage when they visit to Thailand. To me, any form of human skin contacts kind of "geli". That is particularly true when the person massages a certain spots, such as putting pressure at the thigh area.

But, I decided that I must try for one Thai massage just before I go off. I have tried the foot reflexology (Joy Foot) continuously two days opposite at where I stay (Ambassador Hotel, soi 13 Sukhumvit Road) and liked their healing touches very much.

The masseur led me up to 3rd floor area, where there are raised wooden platform rooms place into both side. These platforms were then separate into individual rooms by partition. The masseur then told me to change to more comfortable clothing.

She first started introducing herself to me in light touches at the foot area. Slowly she massaged harder. Followed by shoulder, and arm area, and the head. From tender massage movements, she introduces stretching to my body. At a certain part, her body is entangled with mine. And in my mind I was thinking: "So, this must be one of the reasons why the men liked the massage!"

The climax of the whole event is when she started walking along my back, and skillfully cracks my backbone as she walks. I was like "Wow! That takes a lot of experience!" It really feels great because ordinary hand massage cannot product that amount of pressure to relieve the body aches. Through good balancing, and understanding human anatomy, it seemed so easy for her to do that. She smiled and asked "Okay?" and I responded with a mere nod (cannot breathe).

The massage ended with a relaxing head and shoulder massage, and tea later. All for 300 bath 1 hour. I would have done it for 500 bath for 2 hours if I know it would be this good. All my shoulder aches seem to go away after that.

The Coldest Day in Bangkok

Okay, perhaps it wasn't the coldest day in Bangkok, but, it is the coldest day for me as compare to the other time when I visited Bangkok. As I came back to Bangkok from Pattaya, thick clouds greeted me across the skyline. Not long after that, it started drizzling for the whole evening.

As I walk towards the Erawan shrine (the four faces buddha), I was shivering a little due to the coldness felt. Even the lady that sold me the prayer flowers were saying the same thing. It is a strange feeling, as if that I am walking in a early spring morning since it was cloudy.

A free day in Pattaya.

It is a free and easy day for all of us that attended the meeting here in Pattaya. We were allowed to choose one activity for the day, ranging from Golfing, Go carting, relaxing in the sheath by the pool side, and a luxurious spa massage.

I chose the relaxing spa massage, which prove to be a real enjoyment. I was first given a full body srub with a minty smelling salt or sort of. After that, I went for a shower, followed then with a mild massage. I really like the whole thing, from the calm smelling aroma therapeutic oil burning in the background, till the session where it was ended with a lightly sweetened ginger tea.

After that, I took a walk up the street to this large shopping mall, where the Big C supermarket was. Seeing that National Treasure was already showing in Thailand here, I quickly bought a ticket to catch this show at the cinema. As I sit down waiting for the show to start, the cinema started singing the Thai National Anthem. Gosh, everyone just sprung up and pay respect to the king when the National Anthem was sung. What an interesting experience.

The nite then ended with the Singapore rep treating us a very nice dinner at pIc Thai restaurant, that is not so far away from the transversite show -- The Alcazar. I liked the crispy fried rice cake, topped with a peanut based meat sauce. The dinner totalled up to 4808 bath!

Hard Rock Hotel!!

Guess Where I am at for this year company dealer's meeting??? ---> The Pattaya Hard Rock Hotel, which apparently is priced at 3000 bath a nite!!!

I was greeted with a totally new HRC ironed shirt, printing Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya when I open my room. Each room is decorated with a big poster featuring prominent rock star of the time. Mine was the beatles I think.

The design of the hotel is just so American, everything seemed a lil 60's though someone told me it is actually newer than the JW Marriot hotel, that is few blocks down. Even the bath tub is supersized, maybe the white people can fit into the conventional small one? Haha. And guess what? most of the visitor to this hotel are the Americans.

Where do you donate your money for the Tsunami Fund?

Everyone seems to donate their money one way or another to the Tsunami relief fund. My dad and I have a profound finding that, at any moment we shall not donate to any fund that will be channeled to the government. First of all, our government will only forward this money to the Aceh government, which then will eventually never reach the needy community.

Second, haven't you read that the Chinese in Aceh have been robbed and bullied after the inccident? Do you then think that the money that reach the acehnease government will be used to help them?

My thought is that, save your money, and let everyone in aceh died. Well, it is sad that the chinese will die too, but most of it, the majority of acehnease that behaved like a barbarian will die too eventually. Maybe at then, the world will be a slight more peaceful than before. Kih kih...