Thank you to all the volunteers especially those from Johor who contributed your time and effort to make this event possible without ever experiencing what a BarCamp is like. Your faith in this community effort is a starting point for many more great things to come in JB and I am sure you will glow with self satisfaction knowing that YOU made this all possible.

Thank you to our speakers who came to share with NO personal agenda. This is the very heart of every BarCamp and we thank you for sharing and not selling to us. Thank you for taking time off your weekend, thank you for travelling from KL, Singapore and Vietnam to share with us, and thank you for engaging the participants in open discussion. Please continue to share and encourage others to do the same with the same generous spirit you have shown us.

Thank you to the participants for coming and being part of the entire experience. Please remember that there are no tourists at BarCamp – you came to participate and I am sure most of you grew by doing so. Please help spread the word, volunteer for our upcoming events and stand up and speak.

We are already talking about the next BarCampJB so please join our facebook group and volunteer. I promise that the experience is worth all.

Please visit the links below for more blogs and coverage on BarCampJB

http://huyenchip.com/barcampjb (Our friend from Vietnam)

http://sgblogs.com/entry/live-from-barcampjb/254002 (Our friend from accross the Causeway)

http://www.friedbeef.com/tag/barcampjb/ (winner of iPhone 3g)

http://blog.aizatto.com/tag/barcampjb/ (very good summary of BarCampJB with links to photo albums on Facebook)

http://odysseydave.blogspot.com/ (Dean’s superb coverage of BarCampJB which would have made him a serious on contender for the iPhone – if only he knew how to tag and be found

http://blog.flavert.com/2008/12/08/barcamp-jb-rocks/ (nice round up of Day one with some slides and photos)

I scrambled out of bed and frantically punched in – c h e r y l g o h . c o m into Firefox … It then hit me…

I haven’t blogged since February

I looked up from my notebook screen and rapidly pondered on an appropriate response.

 From the blank expression in my eyes he knew I could not make any meaning of what he just said.

Drawing a deep frustrate breath, he then exclaimed, “There’s going to be an election-LAH!”

I should really start reading the papers.

Other than the Esprit Outlet, Queen’s Park other tenants includes the Factory Outlet Store, the Travel for All Outlet Store, the FJ Benjamin Outlet Store, and Giordano. I briefly browsed through FJ Benjamin  but found most of their stuff too gaudy for my taste (but I am sure Ah Lians would love their splashy clothing) and spent the rest of my time and MONEY at Esprit. 

According to some old article from The Star:

 The Esprit Outlet Store is unique in Malaysia because it carries end-of-season clothing lines from Esprit stores all over Asia, including some lines which are not even available in local Esprit boutiques. 

While I am not sure if some of the clothing on display are not even available at local Esprit boutiques, I did not come across any “rejected” clothes – e.g. those with one button missing, disproportionate printing, one sleeve longer than the other…*two thumbs up*

The interior looked very much like any other Esprit boutique, with one significant difference – the prices were 60%-70% lower!

The price at the store ranged from RM19.90 to RM129.90.

The selection of tops and T-Shirts was decent, most of which were available in multiple sizes. I bought a simple spaghetti top for RM19.90, and a three-quarter khaki pants for RM69.90. What a bargain!

Located on the 2nd floor were the men’s and kids clothing section, and *gasp* more women clothing.

Bags and accessories however, were quite limited and those available were either worn out or just plain ugly.

In total, I bought 10 pieces of clothing – 9 tops and 1 pants – all for just under RM500. I consider it a steal and would definitely revisit some time in the future.

For some cosmic reason, the year end sets loose a plague which inexplicably turns just about everyone into deep-thinking reflective Zen beings. Rave parties, Dota, and yum cha session are suddenly time wasting activities, and people across the globe start planning to exercise and chuck away Big Macs in favor of Portabella Mushroom Salads. 

Everyone strives to pen down resolutions for a more fulfilling and meaningful life – stop smoking, being kind to the environment, saving more money, etc, etc. 

12 months down the road, most people are back to square one-recycling this year’s resolution for the next year.

Last year I made several new year’s resolutions, like:

2006 Resolution: I will become a more organized person.

“I will organize my work, in nice color-coded folders, and clear the rubbish on my desk at the end of every week”

Fast Forward December 2006

- My extremely “organized” work station -

It’s not as bad as it looks.

Sure, my documents are not color coded but hey, if I threw my blue pen drive into the orange mug, there’ll be just enough room for me to move my mouse without knocking into stray objects.

Conclusion: I’m still a disorganized klutz.

2006 Resolution: I will take better care of my health.

“I will gym at least 3 times a week and cut down on fried and fatty food. I WILL NOT DRINK ALCOHOL or eat fast food”

Fast Forward December 2006

- I swear I was just posing with the food and alcohol. None of it actually went into my tummy. -

God, I swear I tried…but yeah, this is one area I’ve been really inconsistent with.

Conclusion: I am no where closer to being slim, fit and healthy.

Oh well, if at first you don’t succeed, set the bar lower.

Here are my 2007 resolutions, inspired by the stars:

I want sound better at Karaoke:

I want to love myself more:

If and when I do decide to exercise, I will splurge on unwire support to prevent permanent breast sag

I’d like to look good in a bikini.

 Happy New Year Everyone!

Today was a productive day spent primarily bonding with a bed I’ve been neglecting. It could not have been done without the support of my red stable table, purchased from Ikea during working hours, after devouring a dozen Swedish meatballs which Jason firmly believes derives it’s primary ingredients from bull testicles, dipped in some red sauce which is definitely not cranberry sauce.  

So  I’ve decided to give my red stable table a name.  Seems fair to name the furniture which permits me to save unprecedented amount of calories, by allowing me to surf the Internet from the comforts of my bed while sipping chilled, sweeten, processed, preserved Yeo’s soya bean served by the boyfriend because the fridge was closer to him than it was to me.

“Baby, can I have a refill?”

I think I am rambling. Do you think I am rambling? It must be because my brain’s been infused with insanely super human amounts of alcohol and R&B in the past few days, coupled with a lack of sleep and too much carbohydrates consumed during supper at various locations across KL due to the midnight munchies brought on by consuming insanely super human amounts of alcohol and too much R&B.

I shall name my red stable table Siren.

“You look really tired,” my friend notes as I slowly chewed on my garden salad. “What were you up to last night?”

“Nothing”. I reply. “I came home at 8.00pm after work and slept till 8.00am this morning! I am still recovering from Saturday’s night out”.

I faintly recall crawling into bed at 5.30am after sending everyone home.

“Gosh, it’s been three days! What time did you wake up on Sunday?”, my friend enquires.

“At four in the evening. I only managed one meal on Sunday and some wine before fading into unconsciousness”.

My friend mockingly chuckles as he messily cracks open a crab’s claw.

“I woke up at 8.00am on Sunday,” he gloats.

“Wow, like how did you manage to wake up, after getting royally drunk, with only 4 hours of sleep?”

“Ahhhh, it is quite simple really,” my friend replies with sudden authority in his voice. “Imagine going to the gym after a long break and forcing yourself through a strenuous workout”.

“Uh-huh”.

“What would your body feel like the next day?”

“Bloody sore”. I reply, remembering days when I had to walk side ways like a blundering crab, down flights of steps after a session in a gym following a long break.

“Now imagine if you are a regular gym goer,” he continues. “Exercising becomes a lot earlier because your body is accustomed to it. The same applies for excessive-binge-drinking; the more often you do it, the better you get at it. Your body become accustomed to the alcohol overload”

I stare at my friend in awe. I have been enlighten! I’ll get a chance to test his theory tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be another marathon-ish night at The Loft @Heritage Row. Which means that I would have spent 3 of the last 5 nights getting high. The body should be conditioned by now, eh? But to be on the safe side, I’ve taken Thursday off.

Steve managed to shake Pak Lah’s hand and spent the whole day gloating about it.

“I am not gonna wash my hand for days!” quipped my awe-struck colleague.

If Datuk Michelle Yeoh shares the same sentiments as Steve, she won’t be washing her shoulder any time soon too.