I have a dream that come this June, I will be able to fulfil my lust for a PS3 and enjoy the glory of FFXIII.

Play Station 3

But my dream has been broken by certain events that was beyond my control. Previously it was the duty stamp and legal fees that I need to pay to the bank, for a house loan that was entrusted upon me. That had set me back by a few thousand Ringgits.

Final Fantasy XIII

Next was the professional fee charged by the housing evaluator for their ‘fair’ evaluation report on the state and value of the house. That has further set me a few hundred Ringgits.

Just a few days ago, I received a call from the lawyer that was ‘appointed’ for me for the Sales & Purchase of the house: I need to settle a few more thousand Ringgits for their legal fees.

All on all, I am now officially on a deficit budget FOR THE YEAR, which means that I have spend more than what I’ve earned for my current financial year which will end in June this year. Technically I still have 3 more months to fix my financial back into positive balances, but it will come with the cost of not being able to spend as I wish.

The legal and processing costs of purchasing this medium cost house was beyond my expectation, and this is one of the expensive lesson that I’ve learned this year.

“Don’t lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations. Expect the best of yourself, and then do what is necessary to make it a reality.” [Ralph Marston]

It’s the time of the year again that people are scrambling to complete their End Year Performance Review (EYPR) Individual Performance Contract (IPC). Sometime six months ago, people were scrambling to complete the Mid Year Performance Review (MYPR) portion of the IPC.

This is my first time doing the EYPR part. It was also my first time doing the MYPR portion, previously. It looks simple enough that I only need to write down things that I’ve done as per work assignment. However when we were required to explain it more in detail using the R.I.C.E. formula (Results, Impact, Challenges, Effort), that’s where I found it to be… quite taxing.

It’s about finding the right balance between stating what you have done, what you wish you have done, the end results, the expected results, how you could improve yourself, what you have done wrong, etc. Cynics view these exercises as the chance for people to sing a praise on their own efforts in order to achieve high IPC points (which will affect your salary increment).

Can I just simply write down things that I’ve done without having to think much on how to make it look as if it was something great? It’s not that what I’ve done is of significant value to the corporation or not, that’s not the whole point. I just don’t like to write down things that involved what I did.

But it is required so that the management knows how to rank your achievement vis-a-vis others in the division. Couple it with the rumoured force-ranking approach, people are trying their best to make the IPC as a big deal. I don’t give a rat, but I will fill it nevertheless with what I think I’ve done for the company.

Hopefully I am not ranked in the Marginal 3 (M3) group so that I can get salary increment. Heh.

The words of John Dryden sounds true, either if one reads it literally, or metaphorically: “Beauty, like ice, our footing does betray; Who can tread sure on the smooth, slippery way: Pleased with the surface, we glide swiftly on, And see the dangers that we cannot shun.”

Yesterday I went to Disney on Ice with my sis and cousin. With a full stomach thanks to a very filling Satay Kajang courtesy of my uncle, We were fully entertained by the show. This was my first Disney on Ice show ever, and it was not a disappointment that I forked our close to RM 155.00 for the rink-side seat.

I love the dances, the performances, the skating movement. The story for this year’s Disney on Ice is that Mickey and friends had to call the help of the Incredibles to fight against evil. I think the Incredibles characters were superb and they were the best on ice, IMHO. Dash is now officially my favourite Disney character.

There were some mis-steps and falls on the stage as they skate around, but that was expected as the ice rink was slippery towards the first half of the show – can’t blame our hot weather! But the cast were nevertheless managed to continue the whole show as scheduled, and it was a professional job on their part in making the show a success.

“We went for a trip to Disney on Ice! It was fun and entertaining.”

From Disney on Ice, posted by Emirin M K on 3/14/2010 (13 items)

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Today I went to Sunway Pyramid with my sis, Mus, and Shima (Mus’ girlfriend). We went to ice skate at the only ice skating ring in Peninsular Malaysia – and it’s perfectly reasonable to say that it was due to the Disney on Ice show that we went the day before. LOL. I have invited Zul to come along, but he could not make it because he ‘need to rest’. Whatever.

It took me a few minutes to adjust my body to the great feeling of skating, as it has been ages since my last visit. But it was marvellous. Fantastic. I felt a bit tired after a few minutes on the ice, but a short rest helped me to get used to the skating stuff.

Things were not that great for Mus since he got ’sakit kaki’ after a few rounds of skating. My sis, Mus, and Shima fell a few times on the ice. Thank god this time I didn’t – but there were a few near-miss. I guess I need to shape up and get myself into skating more regularly. We concluded our skating trip at Laksa Shack.

Overall, it has been a splendid ice-theme week for me.