tOothYfaiRy_LaNd

What Chinese New Year means to me when...

2012-01-23T19:07:00.001+01:00

What Chinese New Year meant to me when i was 10...
- unlike the other days of the year, being allowed to stay up late to welcome the arrival of a brand new year
- daddy blasting new year song at the wee hours of the morning waking the entire household
- a hot bowl of mee suah soup topped with a hard-boiled egg for chor yat breakfast
- rainbow colour helium balloons
- collecting and counting angpow money with a glee!

pic: www.noobcook.com

What Chinese New Year meant to me when i was 20...
- a chance to shop till i drop after spending the school holiday slogging in Fajar Supermarket
- putting on the what-i-thought-was-cool new year outfits and feel so glam about them
- hanging out with friends in noisy overcrowded places where you have to be yelled to be heard

pic: www.dreamstime.com

What Chinese New Year means to me now that i am approaching 30...
- i guess now it simply means being HOME with those whom i love and who love me, unconditionally!

Fluffy new year

2012-01-01T12:41:00.000+01:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!

Mine starts great cause i woke up with a little flurry suprise.

It is a soft toy plus a warmer/cooler thing. It contains a small pack inside which can be cooled in the fridge, or warmed in the hot water and microwave for cold or hot treatment!

I aim to blog more this year and hopefully i will able to stick to that lil resolution i made for myself, and not to mention to do more exercises, speak more spanish and generally have more positive outlook in life.

Looking forward to great dragon year =)

Cream cheese recipe

2011-11-26T09:15:00.001+01:00

Bought some cream cheese not too long ago to make little tapas at home.

And then i was left with so much of it, i dont know what to do (dont wanna keep it in the fridge for too long and risk it getting bad).

And then i stumbled onto the most awe-sauce simple recipe for:

PASTA WITH CREAM CHEESE!!!

It is super easy, and since i did not have all the ingredients the original recipe called for. I made a little substituitions:

The ingredients:
spaghetti or whatever pasta
margarine, softened
dry basil
dry parsley
cream cheese, softened
oil
garlic powder

salt

Steps:
(A) Cook Pasta!
1. As usual, cook the pasta. I usually add some oil into a big boiling pot of water so that the pasta will not stick to the pot.

(B) Prepare Sauce
1. Mash together the margarine, basil, parsley and cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
2. Add oil (i used olive oil, about 1 tbsp), garlic powder and salt
3. Stir everything till they are all creamy.
4. Add, little by little, the boiling water from the cooking pasta into the sauce.
5. Keep stirring till the sauce becomes a thick cream.

(p/s: there are no measurements cause as i always cook as i pleased, except when it comes to baking, hehe!!)

Then add everthing (cooked pasta + sauce) together and VOILA!!! an easy and yummy meal!

For the pasta that i made, i have also added chunks of tomato, but i was thinking it will be much better with some salmon or chicken! =)

Kitty gears

2011-09-27T19:56:00.001+02:00

Husband went to the movie, Cowboys and Aliens, last Saturday with a friend and i didnt go. I mean, its Cowboys and Aliens so i really dont see how it could be good.

I spent the saturday nite home, watching Modern Family (rewatch, cause i heart Modern Family, and Smurfts!) and went to bed early after spending an hour surfing the net on bed.

And the next morning, when i went into the kitchen to prepare some breakfast...i found some kitty apparels neatly placed on the table!

Turned out the husband bought me a pair of kitty autumn pyjamas and kimono-inspired cotton kitty robe.

What a way to start a Sunday =)

Fishy Post

2011-09-24T11:08:00.000+02:00

I cooked something that i think looks pretty awesome-sauce so i am gonna share it here!

I love eating fishes. But i find cooking fishes a hassle.

For example, i tried frying them but i dont know why they never turned out quite as i expected. They usually became oil-coated limpy ball of mass. Maybe i need to dip them into some frying powder before drying them?

Thats why i tend to buy salmon, cause they are easy to handle. Season them with a little salt, top with some onions and tomato slices, pop into the oven for 15 minutes and they are good to go!

For this dish, i also use salmon. But this time i grind them (with fried onions) all up into salmon paste. Season with salt and a dash of pepper and oregano, stir them till they are mixed homegenously, followed by frying them.

To complete the meal, i cooked some tomato-based pasta. Cook the spiralli till its all al dente. Oil the baking pan. Cut up tomatoes into slices. Place the slices in the baking pan and put some chopped garlic on top the tomato slices. I then add a little dry basil, and bake till the tomatoes turn tender (about 15 minutes or so at 180ºC).

Crush the baked tomatoes. Pour the spiralli into the baking pan. Add some tomato-based pasta sauce and mix them all up for a simple yet satisfying meal =).

Chocolate Muffin-cake

2011-09-18T13:23:00.000+02:00

Woke up super early on a sunday...therefore decided to do a little baking so i could bring some snack to work on weekdays.

It is a recipe i have for a long time to make a simple chocolate cake, but i decided to pour the batter into my muffin mold cause i think it will be fun and bringing it to work will be way easier!

Ingredients are simple:
100g chocolate (to be melted later on)
100g margerine
100g sugar
90g flour
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 180ºC.
2. Melt chocolate and margerine. i did that in an oven since my chocolate is the easy-melt kind from nestle
3. Combine eggs and sugar and beat till foamy.
4. Add melted choc + margerine combo
5. Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl.
6. Add flour + baking powder mix little by little into rest of the batter.
7. Stir well.
8. Bake for 45 minutes!

We got this super strong oven at home, therefore instead of baking for the suggested time of 45 minutes, i baked them for only 30 minutes.

I made 8 chocolate muffin-cakes with this recipe and each of them is really HUGE too! Well, i guess they can be separated into more molds to make smaller ones too!

I am never good in baking, but i really think this is a success! The insides are quite dense but very soft and the fact that i didnt microwave the choc + margerine combo too well actually ends up as quite a nice suprise!

Now it seems like i added some chocolate chips into the mix. hehehe!!!

Oh dear!!!

2011-09-10T09:51:00.000+02:00

Oh dear!!!!!

i have abandoned my blog for such super loooong time again.

there is not like there is nothing to blog about cause we have been doing stuffs but well, what can i say but blame the Ipad! hehehe.

Since we got the ipad, i realize i spend so little time on the PC. Sometimes not at all throughout the week.

But i have been reading other blogs lately and it really kinda propel me to come back to writing.

yeah right...like no one really cares if i should write. But blog is a great way to keep of tab and to record little events and happenings. So here we go again and this times i hope it will last, hehe.

Last week there was the Feria in town. Well, it literally just means that there were holidays in town and people poured out to the street in celebration. Usually i have no idea what all these holidays are since they are usually assoicated to one catholic festival or another. But this time, suprisingly i kinda bother to ask why were there so many festival days in a row.

Apparently the Motin is celebrated in town during the first week of september to commemerate the day when the Spanish people of the town successfully kick the ass of some French conquerers and drove them all out.

There was a medieval market with people selling trinkets to forged-arms (shields and stuffs) and then there were also truckloads of food stands but the most awesome of all, the only thing i think is worth braving the crowd in the feria for is definitely the sinfully yummy but throughly unhealthy rosquilla.

The air was filled with mouth-watering smell of fried cinnanomon coated bread dough and i love the crispiness of the outside and the softness inside. Looks much like a doughnut but it has a more compact texture and each mouthful is accompanied by the lust for more. And that is exactly how GOOD it is!!!

Then we took a long stroll to the amusement park (good way to digest the yummy rosquilla).

Rides i am too old for. So dont bother.

Had some fun time playing the open air bingo. Its easy, you buy this bingo sheet containing 10 numbers from the vendor. He will then roll out like...i dont know...25 numbers or so, and if you manage to tick off all the 10 numbers, you get a win!!! Gosh, i need only one bingo to bring the smurf toy home but in the end, God forbid that i was ONE number short from BINGO-ing. Seriously, the chinese are right...44 is damn suay!

Before heading home we also stopped for the traditional churros con chocolate. It was a rip-off because we paid a Euro for one chocolate coated churro (well, it was good, cause despite being coated with thick chocolate, it was still pretty crunchy, but a Euro...hmm...).

It was a good way to spend some 4 hours, we went home exhausted from the walk....but it was a fun deviation from the normal saturday nite!

the first entry of 2011

2011-06-26T10:12:00.000+02:00

The first entry of 2011 is on my birthday!

Happy 29th birthday to me.

Sometimes

2010-12-22T22:18:00.000+01:00

Sometimes i get too thrilled watching game shows on TV that i started telling my husband:

"God! I am so 'kan cheong'!!! Can they not be so 'lau hei'!!!"

He will look at me funny and then i realized i must have spoken some alien language.

Gosh, i miss my 'cha-pa.lang' language.

The Thing About Being Away From Home

2010-12-17T16:44:00.000+01:00

The thing about being away from home is that......

IT IS NOT FUN! NOT AT ALL!!!

I have been feeling this crazy nagging longing to go home and see my family for the last few days. The feeling just sort of crept out of nowhere and ate up every single cell of mine while sleep eluded me.

It was hard to supress the feeling when my head start churning out all numbers of days i will be away from home, which is like a pathetic 355 days a year or something. =(

Couldnt help thinking that so much would have happened at home while i am away leading my life in this other part of the world, and i would have missed out so much...so much of the important time and events of the people i love most in my life.

I saw mum, getting older by years, and i wish i could be there, to take care of her and to make her happy for we are all she has. I see my sisters having their families, their home. I see Jojo and Jason finishing their studies, i see them becoming adults with their own life...I see so many things in the future, but i dont see myself in the picture.

Maybe this is just a phase everyone goes through. Maybe, like everything, time will heal the yearnings.

Its still a long way home.

Muffins?

2010-12-05T15:12:00.000+01:00

I dont know what got into me today that i woke up with a strong urge to go make some muffins.

So i crept into the kitchen, adn whipped out half a dozen of chocolate muffins according to the awesome Nigella Lawson recipe i found online!

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/chocolate-banana-muffins-5158

Left them in the oven 5 minutes more than the recommended time and the crust hardened to become cookies-liked. I love the crunchiness, so i dont mind, though over time they get worse with air exposure.

All in all, it was a succesful early morning venture. They are light, very chocolate-y and most important of all, did not required much of a cooking skill.

Breakfast Row

2010-11-14T10:11:00.000+01:00

Breakfast today was punctuated with a row over the Lord of the Ring. Oh, yeah the LOTR.! It wasnt a row per se, but still shitty as any row could be.

Maybe you dislike it when i am touchy about things that you dont mean of. And i dislike it whenever you try to explain and always ending with a sigh, like the whole world have wronged you and like you can count on no one to understand.

Why cant it all just end with a silly smile?

Of Lamentations

2010-09-20T11:16:00.000+02:00

Sometimes i do find myself lamenting about my current life.

It definitely isnt easy to pack my bags and leave home. Settling myself in a far away corner of the globe, being apart of a brand new family, adjusting myself into a new very rich culture coupled with the constant bombarding of a language so foreign to mine.

I cant remember the countless times when everything gets so overwhelming and all i wanted to do was to escape, to hide from it all, nestled in a safe and sound cocoon and take all my time in the world to indulge in self pity.

Alternatively, i could take a bold step forward to embrace this new life. To hurled myself into an exciting change in life which is so absolute and yet so fearsome. I could gather all my courage to face the bull head on, tossing its horns and breaking through the challenge with a triumphant victory.

And i should feel blessed as i can do that all with love. With so much love.

Now everytime when the blues creep in, i shall remind myself of a resolution i made in a rainy Monday morning and i will hold myself together and see myself through.

On A Day Like This

2010-09-14T09:07:00.000+02:00

On a day like this,

i wish i can get away from it all

to a little corner of the Earth

where life is easy and time is slow

where the roaring ocean crashes my thoughts

and be drifted away in a gentle breeze

How i wish on a day like this...

pAris - Day One

2010-09-13T10:49:00.001+02:00

26 August 2010

We arrived in Paris after a 2 hours flight from Barajas. It was kind of weird as i remember vividly how normal i felt about it all. I know i should have been enveloped with excitement, anticipation and probably immeasurably multitude of joy. I mean after all France is the most visited country in the whole world for like 5 years running!

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings#cite_note-0)

Note:* Malaysia is right there at no.9! Top TEN!!! WHoopppsss!!!*

It all took a little nasty turn when we decided to ask from the information desk about the location of the hotel we are heading to. We will be staying in the Holiday Inn Notre Dame, a modern little hotel located in the bustling Latin Quarter.

We were told by a woman at the Information Desk that there is a FREE shuttle service, a compliment from the hotel, that will bring us right up to the door step. Hubby was deeply puzzled. Considering the distance of the airport to the city, it would have been a rather generous act from the hotelier. On top of that, shall they provide such excellent service, they would have mentioned the same in the bookings.

We lugged our luggages to the bus terminal, found the bus we were looking for and hubby was right. The bus catered specifically to those who stay in Holiday Inn, in the suburb of Paris. We then lugged our luggages back to the metro station to get our train tickets.

Boy...train tickets are indeed very expensive in Paris. A single trip from the airport cost approximately €14. The whole public transportation thing was kinda shaby due to the malfunctioning signboards in the station and the lack of people to get information from. The train itself was old and dirty, and the train station smelt of pee.

First impression......FAILED.

It took approximately 45 minutes to reach the city with the subway. We clamberred out of the train station, luggages in hand into the heart of St Michel. The streets were buzzing with life, cars zooming past rows after rows of old buildings, people chatting animatedly while waiting for the light to turn green, a sturdy group of black people gathered at the foot of St. Michel fountain, terazza strewned along the vast walkways as Parisians and tourists alike sipped their coffee in a cool summer evening.

I think i could start to like this after all!

The Holiday Inn Notre Dame is an excellent choice mostly due to its location. It is a stone throw away from the St. Michel metro which connects to the major metro lines, only two blocks away from the Cathedral, within walking distance to the Lourve and is nestled among a great varieties of restaurants and the bustling city of Paris.

First stop after check in.....lunch. We were so hungry (note: Air France gave us a pack of salty cookies for the flight. I wanna fly KLM next time cause they always have yummy cheese bun and the heavenly Dutch cookie whatever its name is). that we stopped in the first Crepe shop that caught our eyes. Crepes in France to kickstart our adventure, how authetic!

My choice, a salty crepe of egg and cheese!

It was close to 4pm when we finally left the creperie so we started our day exploring places close by. I would say the best way to explore and to take in the beauty that the city has to offer is by walking. That was exactly what we did. For the 6 days in Paris, we walked, we walked and we walked more! =) It helps that the city is very pedestrians friendly. Shall one get tired from the seemingly endless walk, another fun way (i supposed) to get around is through the bike sharing system. Bicycles are distributed at a vast majorities of parking stations, plonk in an Euro for a day rental, and one will be ready to go.

Our first day was spent visiting the little islands of île Saint-Louis and Île de la Cité. We strolled pass the Seine, pausing to take in the view, watched as people passed us by before continuing our walk to the Notre Dame. It was a marvelous sight.

The Notre Dame (French for Our Lady) is located in the Île de la Citè is a gothic catholic cathedral erected in the year of 1163 as dedication to the Virgin Mary! Its a kind of awe to be standing there, right at the foot of the cathedral, marvelling at what people could do back in the ancient 1100s. This is an art piece of of detailed craftmanship that i can only imagine as being painstakingly etched into each and every stone that make the building.

We joined the snaking queue for a fast tour inside the cathedral. We were enveloped with still silence once in the building. The interior is very high vaulted with numerous medieval stained glass windows each having a depiction of its own as well as some collection of sculptures. The crowds in the cathedral thicken with time as we jostled past. It is interesting to note that, the Notre Dame still plays a crucial role as a focal point of christianity in France.

stained glass and sculpture

inside of the cathedral

gargoyles adorning the sides of the cathedral

We skipped the queue to the tower as it was crazily long and unmoving and ended up in the little lanes of Île-Saint Louis! It was an extreme delight as this is part of the oldest place in Paris and the little lanes are sandwiched within rows of quaint shops from florist to creperie to modern gelato place. Almost on every street corner, we bumped into people lapping happily to their ice cream cone in hand. I guess it doesnt take a rocket scientist to realize that we are in the zone of some good ice cream.

tubs of cookies

mountains of cookies

florist

It was then that we saw a line, which seems to be stemming out of nowhere. Upon closer inspection, the queue started from a small ice cream shop! We hit the jackpot!

the many flavors of ice cream

my choice: the very rich forest berries sorbet that melts in the mouth

The spend the rest of the day walking around the ancient city by the Seine, taking in the view and the atmosphere, and trying to tune everything down after a very early morning to catch our flight from Madrid.

Day one ended with a good cosy japanese meal for two in a tiny japenese eatery we charged upon. I love the fact of how asian food are so abundant and much more common here than in Madrid and that one do not need to pay an arm and a leg for.

Day 1 ended with us retiring early to bed in preparation for our Disneyland adventure coming up next!

The Meme (That Gets on Everyone's Nerves)!!!

2010-08-28T10:52:00.002+02:00

Right now i think i will be in Disneyland, Paris. Therefore i have scheduled a little nonsense meme just to fill the blog during my absence!

001. Real name : Cheah Moong Ein

002. Nickname(s) : Ah Moong
003. Age: old enough

004. Zodiac sign : Cancer

005. Male or female : Female

006. Elementary : Assumption Kindergarten

007. Middle School : SRK Convent, Teluk Intan

008. High School : SMK Convent, Teluk Intan

009. College school : University Putra Malaysia

010. Hair color : Black

011. Long or short : Long

012. Loud or Quiet : Loud with people i am comfortable with

013. Sweats or Jeans : Sweats...yup, its old fashion BUT hey....its comfortable

014. Phone or Camera : Hmmm...Camera!

015. Health freak : Yes Yes Yes
016. Drink or Smoke? : Occasional beer with lemon (shandy) doesnt qualified me as a drunk. Smoking a big no no.

017. Do you have a crush on someone : Nope! Had a crush on someone for like 2 years in highschool though

018. Eat or Drink : ? WHAT?

019. Piercings : The ears

020. Tattoos : None and will not

021. Social or Anti-Social : Depending on moods and needs

022. Righty or lefty : Righty!

FIRST :

023. First piercing : Probably age 6 on ears

024. First relationship : Age 17, lasted for freaking 9 years

025. First Best Friend : Primary school, Megan

026. First Award : One that really counts? First Class Degree in college

027. First Kiss : Age 17

028. First Pet : Afraid of all fury moving objects

029. First Big Vacation : Sabah, the land beneath the wind. Well, i rate a big vacation as the first one i spend my own money on

030. First Love at first sight : non-believer

031. First Big Birthday : 1 year old! Nothing beats that

032. First Surgery : None. Hope it will not happen

033. First sport you joined : Gymnastic club in primary school

034. Orange or Apple juice : Orange anytime

035. Rock or Rap : I like Michael Buble, and 90's Pop

036. Country or Screamo : Neither

037. NSYNC or Backstreet boys : N'Sync!

038. Britney spears or Christina Aguilera : X-tina!

039. Night or Day : Night!

040. Sun or Moon :Moon

041. TV or Internet : Internet

042. Playstation or xbox : Wii

043. Kiss or Hug? : Kiss and Hug

044. Iguana or turtle : Turtle

045. Spider or bee : Dislike both

046. Fall or spring : Spring

047. Limewire or iTunes : Limewire!

048. Soccer or baseball : Soccer

CURRENTLY :

049. Eating : Mezla de Judias verde, zanahoria y brocolli (a mix of green peas, carrots & brocolli)

050. Drinking : Green tea

051. Excitement level : 0

052. I'm about to : Cook real food

053. Listening to : The sound of the keyboard under my fingers

054. Plans for today : A walk in the park

055. Waiting for : hubby to get home

056. Energy level : Decreasing with the hours

057. Thinking of someone: home!

YOUR FUTURE :

058. Want kids? : Maybe

059. Want to get married? : Married

060. When : August 6th, 2010

061. How many kids do you want : Never thought of that

062. Any names on the mind: Lady Gaga? LOL

063. What did you want to be when you're a kid :An astronaut...and then i acquired myopia

064. Careers in mind : An educator, with 3 months annual holidays

065. Mellow future or wind : ???

066. Something you would never try : Suicide, Smoking

067. When you want to die? : Such a cruel Q. Well, i am selfish, so before my husband

068. Lips or eyes : Eyes

069.Romantic or Funny : Romantic goes hand-in-hand with funny

070. Shorter or taller? : Who?

071. Protective or Caring : Caring makes someone protective, no?

072. Romantic or spontaneous : Both

073. Nice stomach or nice arms : Not relevant

074. Sensitive or loud : Flexible in different situations

075. Hook-up or relationship : Again, i am Married!

076. Trouble maker or hesitant : Hubby is a hesitant type

077. Muscular or normal : Normal

078. Kissed a stranger : Nope

079. Broken a bone : Nope and touch-wood

HAVE YOU EVER :
080. Lost glasses/contacts : Accidentally flush my pink-rimmed glasses down a squat toilet
081. Ran away from home? : LOL. Why would anyone?

082. Held a gun/knife for self defense : Nope

083. Killed somebody : Well, if i did, i wouldnt publish on internet

084. Broken someone's heart: Absolutely

085. Had your heart broken : Yes

086. Been arrested : Never

087. Cried when someone died : For dad in Christmas 1999
088. Liked a friend more than a friend : It was a crush!

DO YOU BELIEVE IN :

089. Yourself : It depends

090. Miracles : God makes miracles, and we just have to believe

091. Love at first sight : Nope

092. Heaven : AMEN!

093. Santa Claus : Everyone knows it is fake

094. Sex on the first date : Nope

095. Kissing on the first date : Pecks and not passionate ones

096. Angels : Yippy!

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY :

097. Is there one person you want to be with right now : There are more than one. Hubby, families & friends

098. Are you seriously happy with where you are in life : Very contented

099. Do you believe in God : YES to God and Jesus!
100. Post as 100 truths and tag 10 people : Be thankful that i am tagging no one! =)

Last Week Happenings

2010-08-23T17:42:00.000+02:00

Last week was the first official week of summer holidays for the husband. =) Good for him since i know how hard he worked and how much he deserved the holidays.

And needless to say, it was good for me cause that means we will have the opportunities to spend time doing more things together. I wish i have found a job already cause sitting at home is kinda getting lamer and lamer as the days go by, but i guess there are things that takes time to materialize.

A little update of the past week:

Monday (August 16th)
Went shopping to the Factory, a thrift shopping mall where goods are supposed to be cheaper compared to malls. I think i found heaven in the Lefties. On the sign, it says 'Zara Reduced' and it is basically a Zara stock store - something like 'leftover' fashion. I didnt mind though, cause i found tonnes of great bargains in the place and if according to the little voice in my heart...i will wanna buy the whole store. But of course, the big sensible voice in my head very often triumph the little voice in my heart...so yet again, i made plenty of what i hope are smart purchases. These are my shopping hauls from Lefties:

A faux leather jacket for the Fall, € 19.99

Comfy cotton Tees, each for € 3.99

Cotton miniskirt, € 2.99

Long cardigan, fit for winter, € 15.99

Hair band with blue ribbon, € 1.99

I guess the best buy of the day were the long jeans trousers from Pimkies for only € 3.00 each. Well, i am sure they do not spell fashionable. Pretty far from that really. But i still think for the kind of material, and the fact i couldnt find any fault in the pants, i would say there were indeed a very good find.

Apart from that, i also found a liitle knitted cardigan in Pimkies at € 5.00. Knitted cardigan in brown gives an air of old wisdom paired with a crisply ironed blouse and an A-line skirt. It goes well with amost all my dresses in the wardrobe and the sleeves are great to hide my flabby arms.

Tuesday (August 17th)
We were contemplating if we shall make a trip to the city since the weather report wasnt at all favourable. Apparently, shower was expected in the evening all over Madrid and our spirits were dampened by the very grey forecast. Some how, over pancakes and coffees, we have decided to braved the bad weather and voila, it turned to be a very good day after all!

First stop was the Retiro, which is very much the Central Park of Madrid. Hmm...living in Aranjuez, and within close proximity to plenty of lush gardens, the Retiro does not seems to be very impressive. That, coupled with my constant urge for the toilets made the whole Retiro experience a little off beat. =(

We have lunch by a large lake in the garden, soaking up atmosphere, listening to tourists being shushed by bossy Spanish waiters and watching families and nonchalant teens paddling around the pond.

My lunch was the classic spanish dish of eggs and potatoes. I love Tortilla Espanola, the spanish omelette. I guess one cant never go wrong with the combination of eggs and potatoes. =)

We walked from the Retiro, all the way to Sol, via the Gran Via. The Gran Via is a very old street in the heart of Madrid that i love. The architecure of the buildings along the Gran Via are so amazing and awe-inspiring. To me, they sure look like tiers after tiers of delicious looking cakes. I think one need to possess a wide architectural vocabularies to truly espress the beauty of it all. As for me, i am contented to just refering them as tiers of yummy pastries. =) They sure dont make buildings like this anymore these days.

After Starbucks and some book stores, we arrived at the Yelmo Cines for Inception, or Origen in Spanish. Seriously, i have no idea what 'inception' really means, i thought it would have meant something like an intercept, and therefore the spanish translation seems kinda weird and non-related. And how wrong i was when i found out from the Free Dictionary that Inception really means this:

inception [ɪnˈsɛpʃən]

the beginning, as of a project or undertaking

I wouldnt even start on how much we like the movie and how making the trip to Madrid for the show is really worth the money and effort cause i am sure for those who have seen it (which by this time, i am sure is all of you out there) would have love the originality and authencity of the plots.

It was my first movie experience since i got here in Spain, and...well, it was fine except for the not-so-impressive cinema seating. This gay couple seated in front of us kept kissing (free show on the side, hehe) and i get to indulge on caramelized popcorns! I love that almost every single piece of the popcorns is wholy caramelized (read extra calories). I hate it when i pay for caramelized popcorns and almost 2/3 of the contents arent what i expected them to be. This is one hell of a popcorn that i cant keep my hands off! =) (Screw extra calories)

Wednesday (August 18th)
Wednesday was dentist day. Went to the dentist, had a full x-ray of the teeth. Looked like battlefield in my mouth. My teeth are crooked beyond descriptions. Even the dentist seemed to be amaze by it all. The wisdom teeth are growing haywires, particularly the last two on the bottom left and right. Two teeth on the left have been growing sideways, inisde the gum, and will probably cause disruption to the tooth right next to them.

An evil wisdom tooth of the right erupted and pushed against the normal tooth next to it which eventually causes cavities and infection. The evil tooth grew sideway so badly, that in order to extract it, the dentist must first cut the tooth into 2 portions and extract each portion by its own. And while we are it, a second wisdom tooth buried in the gum right next to the evil tooth shall also be extracted to prevent the same shit from happening in the future. Since the second tooth is in the gum, there will be a need to first cut open the gum, before taking out the tooth.

I hope i made myself clear. Do sounds very complicated for me. Anyway, we got an appoinment for extraction the Monday after.

I cried all the way home. It already sounded to painful. =(

To get my mind off the 'surgery', husband brought me shopping and insisted to buy me a Minnie Mouse ear for our Disneyland venture next week.

Exploring Disneyland in my very own minnie mouse ears really sounds very good. I mean, if you get to be a kid for a day, why not? hehe. But then again, i find no reason to spend on an item that i will probably use once and never to be bothered again. Therefore, no Minnie mouse ear for me.

Oh, that was when we get the dreaded call from the dentist. He got an opening for tooth extraction on Friday so he had arranged for us to come in earlier. Okay...seriously i was relieved cause then it means the shortening of a distasteful anticipation and hopefully by early extraction the injuries will heal in time for our trip.

It wasnt hard for me to forget about the call though. We decided on yogurt berries milkshake and cheesecake for tea and i was sent straight into a glucose heaven. =)

Friday (August 20th)
Woke up with a bad feeling and a constant nag to eat cause i kept thinking how eating is gonna sucks after removal of two teeth. =(

Mood was really bad throughout the morning. Couldnt stop myself to think about the teeth extraction and how my gum will be cut up. As usual, i was given local anesthesia that took a little time to set in before the whole procedure. I hate dentist. It is always gross when they force open your mouth by sticking so many different utensils into it, and not to mention to continuous buzzing noises of those fancy dentistry equipments used.

Anyway, the first tooth came out easy. I was relieved beyond words cause i took that to means that the second tooth will also be as easy as the first. Needless to say, I was proved WRONG. Very wrong indeed.

The second tooth involved cutting open the gum and literally force the tooth out from its secure little hiding place. The dentist was pounding at the tooth so hard, that it send a shiver of pain right from my gum to my head. He gave me more anesthesia. This is immediately followed by another try at extraction, which again failed. That was when the third cycle of anesthesia-extraction kicked in.

Well, it hurts. Despite 3 round of anesthesia, it hurts but the dentist wouldnt give me more cause then it will be way overdose. By hook or by crook, he took it out and gave me 3 stiches and left me with a face so numb, i didnt regain physical sensation for the next 4 hours.

For the next two days, i stayed home nursing a bulge on my right cheek and a nagging pain that surfaced once the analgesic drugs wears off.

Still, i think it was the right and the only choice. Well, given a chance, i wouldnt wanna do that again, cause by then i will be smart enough to look after my teeth. Right now, i guess it a tad too late. =(

Good news is...ice cream is part of the prescription. =) I can do with some real green tea ice cream with yummy red beans topping now. The only question is, where can i find this in Madrid.

Pic courtesy of: http://herecomesthefood.blogspot.com/2008/10/sushi-ya-chatswood-sydney.html

The Weekend Getaway

2010-08-12T11:39:00.000+02:00

Last weekend was spent chilling out at Jarandilla De La Vera.

The Jarandilla is located West of Spain in the Extremadura region, that host a legion of sleepy towns. According to Gonz these towns tend to be rather backwards and lack of development due to the massive movement of people, especially the young to big cities such as Madrid and Barcelona.

We drove past miles of almost barren lands before reaching a small town of Navamoral. It was the saddest little town i have ever seen. The roads were empty on a Saturday evening and rows after rows of store houses stand evidence of how awfully boring it is.

A little over 2.5 hours on the road, we finally reached our destination - the Parador of Jarandilla de La Vera.

It is a hotel nested in a 15th century castle that served as a fortress back in the Barbaric Spanish age. Well, of course that is not something official that you will find in writing about the 15th century Spain, however, reading fictional books by Spanish authors that depic the olden Spain gave me the impression of just how barbaric lives were. And therefore, i coined the term.

We were pretty impressed by our choice of the Jarandilla. We arrived a little earlier than check-in time and were given vouchers to redeem our free drinks from the bar.

After leaving our luggage in the room, we decided to take a walk in the town of Jarandilla itself. The narrow cobbled streets are fledged by very old buildings with a lot of them looked very much abandon. The sun was right above our head and the heat got the better of us. We stopped by a local spanish bar for a drink and a quick lunch!

Like all spanish bars, free tapas come with the drink you order. So the more you drink, the more you will get to eat. I asked for a Mosto - a form of bottled champagne-like grape juice, and the husband had a Coke. And so, we both get a tapa each:

I dont know what this yummy blend of egg yolk-mayo-tuna on egg white is called...but it was absolutely yummy. I think i can easily recreate the same at home some day. We then asked for some dishes to share, which include a salad of salmon and a typical Jarandilla dish consisting typically of fried bread, tiny chunks of meat and every other ingredients that are available in the kitchen. I was told that during the olden days when food were scarce, this was a typical dish of the poor.

We then spent the rest of the evening reading on the verandah, having coffee and a dip at the pool. The evening summer heat makes walking in the town square almost impossible, therefore we have decided to leave it for the night.

Dinner was a splurge as we decided to try out the restaurant in the castle.

Gonz asked for a starter, the melon Gazpacho, and a main dish of Duck and Berries. The main dish was suprisingly good! I didnt know duck could get so well with berries!

I asked for only the main course, Seabass with Asparagus and Mushrooms. I must say i am a little dissapointed with the dish because despite the very thick sauce, they really dont taste much.

We washed down the dinner with a piece of Raspberry cheese cake to share. Given a choice, we prefer a New York cheesecake anytime.

We walked about the town to aid our digestions after dinner. The small cobbled walks were filled with old lonely people on their way home for the night. A very drunken man stopped Gonz on his track and started chatting with him like an old buddy. Gonz said he is probably some old man who had lived in the same place all his life and is left here all alone by the children who went and work in big cities.

To tell the truth, i didnt feel good walking down the dark street with winding alleys at 11pm though the hubby kept assuring me that nothing bad ever happen in small town like that.

After placing order for the breakfast to be served in the room day after, we retired to bed.

I was awaken by the sight of a 'Rastro' - the Spanish Pasar Pagi right across the street from where the Parador is. We decided to take a stroll down the Rastro after breakfast and see if we could find something nice to buy. Conventionally, you will find fruits, olives, clothings, plants and accesories here in Rastro. I bought a boot last winter in one of such Rastro for 10€.

Breakfast was bad! First, they arrived an hour late from the scheduled time. Secondly, they got the order wrong. The toasts were cold and the milk doesnt taste good. They only served jam with gluten in peach flavour when we wanted strawberry. I dislike jamon (the red roundish meat) and was not in the mood for the york jamon either (pink square meat). Hubby never takes salty stuff for breakfast. So it was money well wasted!

We took a stroll in Rastro after checking out. I got myself a dark blue faux leather bag. =) Shopping is a sure mood enhancer anyday!

We then start driving home with the intention of stopping in Toldedo mall for lunch. Weather was fine along the way, the sun hid beneath the dense clouds, we stopped by a natural pool nestled in the heart of Jarandilla for a quick look.

The water was clean and clear. I couldnt resist dipping my feet into the cold refreshing spring water.

As the weather was perfect i suggested that we drive to downtown Toledo and explore the old quarters instead of spending time in a mall. I have always love this former capital of the Spanish empire for its extensive and monumental heritage that span from Christian, Jewish and Moorish cultures.

We walked into a spanish bar for lunch. Food were good, though a little costly for a bar, but then again, we were in the heart of Toledo, the World Heritage Site which is the main tourist attraction of the town. As usual, we get out tapas with our drinks. In addition, we asked for a salad of bacaloa (a type of fish) with orange and a dish of fried vegetables.

We spend a good hour exploring the ground of the old quarters after lunch before headng back home.

The days were short and we have to say goodbye before we even get into the groove of things. However, it was a worthwhile weekend escapade.

A Fast Update!

2010-08-11T10:25:00.002+02:00

Look Who's Talking

2010-08-07T12:20:00.000+02:00

We spend the previous weekend having big dinner in a mall. VIPS is a restaurant chain in Spain which according to Gonz has the best cheese cakes in town, and sells american inspired nom-nom.

It was 9.30pm. Its crazy hours to have dinner, but thats the norm in this country and restaurants usually dont get full until 10.00pm.

I was battling with my self whether to have a nice juicy burger with yummy oil-laden fries on the side (cause thats what you eat in an american restaurant) or a plain salad. Well, it was easy for the health freak in me to choose. Salads are good, at least the calories are hidden in the dressing and doesnt make one feel so guilty thereafter.

Therefore, i ordered a salad with the usual lettuce, some york jamon, a sprinkle of cheese, tomatoes in cubes, topped with a generous amount of nachos in strips and BBQ sauce! As much as i do not enjoy eating jamon, i must say it was finger licking good (or more like fork licking good, cause i was eating with that utensil).

The glutonous me had one mouthful after another. I dont know what they put in the sauce but they just kept calling for me.

This is when i start to have this conversation with the guilty-Sharon in me.

Guilty-Sharon : You dont wanna eat all that. Well, yea....they said its salad but you know the calories are really in the dressing and cheese.

Sharon : 3 more mouthful and i will be good!

*** 3 mouthfuls later ***

Guilty-Sharon: Thats 3 mouthfuls, and its 10.15pm now...you know how the digestion system slows down at nite.

Sharon: The pineapples are good. I will finish that and then i will stop.

*** After finishing all the pineapples ***

Guilty-Sharon: There goes all the pineapples.

Sharon: I really didnt have much for lunch today. And...this is just a SALAD!

Guilty-Sharon: Lets see....you took some toasts and juices for breakfast, stopped at a local bar for a cup of coffee, went to starbucks for a cup frappucino mocha and ate all the cream on top, and not forgetting the roast chicken salad for lunch!

Sharon: Well.....................

And so i kept eating till i polished up the whole bowl of salad. And i really feel very bad about it later. Gonz asked if i felt fine cause i looked all serious and didnt talk at all during dinner.

Gosh...i sure am pathetic like that!

Chapter W - An Update

2010-08-05T12:20:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow is THE day and i still dont feel anything remotely special.

We have everything all charted out perfectly like the simple way we wanted it to be. Everyone had been helping us with the preparations and almost left us nothing to worry about. And then it was just the anticipation. Probably that explains the 'steadiness'.

We got the wedding date that we wanted fine and minus a whole lot of hassles cause his sister managed to pull some strings at the government office to speed up the whole procedure. We were told they might need months to process the marriage application, and with the help of the sister, it was done in a week! Talk about knowing someone influential.

Talked to mum yesterday and she was suggesting we have simple wedding dinner at home shall we are going back for holidays during the coming lunar new year. She thinks the 7th day is a good day for it symbolises the birth of human. I like the idea. Simplicity is pure bliss.

I told Gonz the same and how i like things to be simple and easy. He mentioned that will probably mean no more Rosa Clara gowns. Rosa Clara, maker of stunning wedding gowns, has a boutique a block away from where we live and i could never stop marvelling at the window displays everytime we walk past. Everything looks so soft, chic and dreamy.

Oh...we finally got the wedding band. We went looking for one early July and were told that it will take the smith 3 weeks to make the rings of our sizes.

We love the contrasting gold linings of the rings.

Last weekend we also went to the jewellery shop to ask about my engagement ring. We sent the ring for an alteration for the last 4 weeks and have never heard anything from the shop since. So we thought we could stop by the jewellery and ask about the ring before we grab our dinner in VIPS.

Turned out, they have the ring done and they just never bother to call. =(

Thank God we decided to dropped by cause apparently if you dont go asking about your piece of jewellery, it will eventually become a possession of the shop! How smart!

Lagunas de Ruidera

2010-08-04T14:07:00.001+02:00

Some weeks ago we made a little day trip to the Lagunas de Ruidera. We packed a little lunch consisting of 'Garbanzos' (chickpeas) salad and drove a four-hour long round trip to our destination.

There wasnt much to see along the way. The south of Madrid is filled with yellow and brown plains, mostly deserted of any vegetation. Once in a long while, we came upon some wind power generators like the small wind turbines mounted on escalated towers erected up small hills.

The Lagunas is a series of connected lakes located in the region of Ciudad Real and Albecete. The first sight that greeted us while we drove into the Lagunas area was rather promising.

A huge lake spread out in front of our eyes. Small cottages were seen perched on the peripheral of the lake, creating a tranquil and serene atmosphere.

The clear as day water provides a perfect reflection of the green vegetation and the bright blue sky. A cafe stood by the edge of the lake with trees hung so low that provides shade against the summer sun. A family was seen feeding the ducks while an elderly couple sun-bathed nearby.

We walked past an old municipal cemetery on the way to the waterfall. I couldnt resist but took a peep into the cemetery. Head stones lie immaculately in rows of white and the blooming flowers adding a touch of colour to the burying ground.

The waterfall is hidden down an alley and will be missed shall we were not tipped off by the very nice waitress down at the cafe. I love the sound of roaring water smashing against the rocks. By then the sun was high up in the sky and heat had become almost unbearable. We made a quick stop by the fall and went on our way.

We started crusing down the winding road that lead us from one lagoon to another. We stopped whenever we found a scenic spot where we can take in the view. Our obejctive was to find a nice quiet spot with shades where he can take a dip and i could read in the shallow.

It is just our luck that we went on a week that almost everyone in the whole of Madrid decided to make a trip to the Lagunas. Needless to say, we didnt find a single quiet spot. We ended up setting our little picnic by one of the very populated lagoon right next to a young man who smoked joint! Oh...and he had a baby too. So, a joint-smoking young father who thinks it is okay to have the baby inhale some second hand smoke. On a very unrelated topic, what i dislike most about the country i am living now is how smoking seems to be the one very important social ethique that it is even okay to smoke in an closed air-conditioned room.

We spent our time people watching, reading and just relaxing by the lagoon. And then we had our lunch admist the chatterings of fellow Spaniards and the second hand smoke before we decided to dropped by a nearby cafe for a cup of coffee. We were expecting things to be expensive in touristy places like this, but were deeply suprised that they are not. We made a mental note to not pack lunch shall we decide to visit the place again.

It wasnt a place we both enjoy tremendously. Nevertheless it is a nice place to pass some time and to immerse into the Spanish culture of sun, pool, food and fiesta!

The Careme and Jarandilla

2010-08-03T09:55:00.001+02:00

So it is finalized!

We went to look at a restaurant picked by the parents yesterday and we both loved it!

The Careme is merely a few good meters away from the Palacio Real, and has a balcony that overlooks the garden of the Palacio and all the colourful blooms of sunny August.

We talked to the chef cum owner - Jesus, and we like the fact that he constantly offered us his views and advices. We love the idea of small cocktails 'aperitvo' (snacks) as proposed as well as the assortment of small little 'postre' (desserts) to tease the tastebuds.

Therefore, the lunch will start with some cocktails aperitivo at the balcony, and then everyone will adjourn to the air-conditioned room for their selected main dishes.

We love the place, we love the service so far. This is a rather posh restaurant judging from the menu and how an entre cost approximately from 15€ to 20€. The parents insisted they will be paying for the lunch, as they did for the other siblings.

We arent particularly happy about it since we think we should be the one paying for this. I guess we will need to talk the parents into this.

After the wedding, since the hubby is not taking any holidays from work (3 weeks summer holidays start on the 2nd week of August, so we figured there is no point for more holidays), we will be making a short trip, over the weekend to the Parador Jarandilla de la Vera.

It was a rather impulsive decision. We woke up last Sunday morning talking about the wedding, and how we are gonna spend the wedding weekend doing exactly the same thing we do every weekend! And we dont like that too much.

The Jarandilla de la Vera is a medieval palace castle from the 15th century which has been remodeled as a hotel. It is located in the Extremadura region, a good 3 hours drive away from Aranjuez.

We booked a matrimonial room, which according to the receptionist is located in the main building of the castle. The room sure doesnt look much like it is in a castle. I guess it isnt easy to maintain the structure (given the very long history of the castle) and still makes it very habitable.

Here, we will spend time lazying by the pool.

Taking leisurely walks on the castle ground............

Or lounging on the verandah with a good book and a cup of coffee!

And the best of all ..... enjoying each other's company. =)

Dear Blog

2010-08-02T11:15:00.000+02:00

Dear Blog,

My apologies for abandoning you. Yet again.

Oh well, i tried finding inspirations. But then things were too mundane to be shared here in an open diary.

For example, i finally made the bold move across the continent. The date was 4th July 2010. I packed 2 small suitcases of all my belongings for the past 28 years, boarded a plane, travelled 10,000 miles to heed the calling.

(pic courtesy of Flickr)

I hate teary goodbyes in the airport, but i can be sure there will be more to come. I guess without the farewells, one will never truly appreciate the beauty of meeting again.

And now we are set to get married amidst the lavender blossoms in the beautiful month of August. It kinda feel weird to get married but isnt really feeling the whole buzz of it. Given it will be a very small affair starting with signing the papers in the Ayutamiento (Town Hall) and then adjourned to the aperitivo (snacks) cum lunch in i-dont-know where.

Yesterday we went scouting for a nice place for wedding lunch. The restaurants were either close for vacations or not nice enough for a wedding. I love Pikando.

It is a quaint little restaurant by the Jardin de Principe with an outdoor canopy made glass windows that oversee the lush garden and have plenty of light streaming in. Also not forgetting the very chic and modern setting. Unfortunately there is no air conditioning is the canopy area and it will be almost crazy to have everyone dress to nine and endure the sweltering heat of summer.

Now it is probably down to the Barcelo or the Gran Casino or they very hype, like Gonz will put it, small food in big dishes, Casa Jose.

I put a lot of emphasis in choosing a place that is chic and will look nice in pictures. I mean, after all the hassles, what one will remember about the day will most probably come in the form of pictures, so who cares if the food is on top of the world! Oh well, maybe i place the importance on the wrong thing or probably i am just plain vain about it all.

Four more days to go until the wedding and well, i dont think i am even a little stress. I think i should be. I think i should go fussing about my wedding dress, or the make-ups or the wedding decorations, etc, but i am not. Am i missing out the best part of getting married? Well you know, the anticipation, the preparation, the getting-oh-so-excited girlies get together, and most of all sharing the moment with people i love and who have love me for all my life.

Not having a cold feet. Not at all. Only that given a choice, i would have done it differently.

A Saturday Road Trip

2010-04-24T15:56:00.001+02:00

It was an impulsive Saturday road trip. One that without much planning or grand agenda.

We decided to take a less familiar route to our destination. That was when we witnessed the gruesome accident.

He was sprawled in the middle of the road, not moving a single muscle. Blood trickled down his head. People gathered to have a better look.

I averted my eyes and said a silent prayer.

I hope my prayer is heard.

The Wish List

2010-04-16T16:16:00.000+02:00

Its no where no near my birthday.

Nor it is christmas.

But a girl can have a wish list whenever she like, doesnt she?

1/ long MNG Jardin dress

2/ the short version is not too bad. Mad love those shoes.

3/ Miss Selfridge ruffled toga dress

4/ Miss Selfridge ruffled denim jacket

5/ well, what else to say but its SHOES!!!

6/ and more shoes

Oh well, now i should go pray that someone got my hints.

hehe!!!

Spring Has Landed

2010-04-14T03:02:00.000+02:00

It feels like spring had finally landed in my little town.

Nothing starts a day better than a purple sea of morning glories.

Oh well, maybe also a great breakfast.

A sandwich of whole grain bread with light cream cheese, tomatoes, lettuce garnished with chicken floss and a side dish of oranges.

My Sister's Keeper

2010-04-13T07:59:00.004+02:00

Post-Update 15 April 2010

The ending of the book is just so different from the movie.

I dont know which ending i like better, but i guess i am still very much sucker for fairy-tale endings.

============

Am currently reading My Sister's Keeper.

And came across this while i read:

"You did really great up there" i tell her,
because i dont know how to say what i really want to:
that people you love can suprise you everyday.
That maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do,
but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it.

To me, the joy of reading comes from the revelation behind the beautiful words.
And the joy of loving is when you feel like home.

Reading this always bring me back to that evening we decided to watch the movie.
We were seated on the couch, snuggling close on a cold winter day.
Me leaning against your chest, listening to the ryhtmic beating of your heart.
I remember turning my head and catched tears streaming down your face.
I wanted you to know, this is not a sign of weakness,
but a show of how much you are capable of love.
For which i am the lucky recipient.

Vain.Pot

2010-04-10T11:55:00.000+02:00

Hitting 30 is not a joke.

All right, not like i am turning 30 anytime soon. But i do believe that when you are well into your mid 20s taking good care of your facial regime is very very important.

In fact, i couldnt even stress enough just how important it is. Especially for us who lives under the merciless sun whole year round.

Jessie told me about Hada Labo sometimes back and how it was so effective for her. Being a sceptic (since i have never heard of the Japanese brand), i went online and looked up for more information on Hada Labo.

Specifically the Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturing Lotion.

Therefore, after numerous reading on forums, i have finally decided to drop by Guardian today for a bottle.

Am yet to use it, well hopefully it is as promising as it was shown on the label:

It says a bottle is sold every four seconds in Japan.

Hope it live up to its reputations.

Pieces Of Thoughts

2010-04-07T05:28:00.003+02:00

Fragments of thoughts that ran throughy my head when i re-read his entries:

It must have been so bad for him, so devastatedly bad.
And no, i would never understand being the one who walked away.
I see he is happy now. I hope he is really happy now.
Because seeing him happy makes my heart lighter.
It makes my heart glad. I know he deserves the love.
Or..well..perhaps i am just plain selfish.
I wonder if everyone still hated my gut. And that people still ponder on my choice.
Or if people still misunderstand me being who i am not.
But then, i supposed it doesnt really matter what they think.

We are pulling through this and i know its just a matter of time.
Time to our very own fairy tale ending.

Picture Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/usmansharif/3183672939/

The Making of Yummy-ness

2010-04-06T14:21:00.000+02:00

On a fine sunday morning, Jocelyn and i decided to make oreo truffles!

Well, you might ask why oreo truffles out of everything. It is as simple as it is simple. The ingredients are easily available, the process is a whisk, no baking/microwaving involved, and most of all, i guess one need much talent to stir up the truffles.

First Truffles Stop: The Supermarket

Stocking up all the ingredients - which are not cheap, and include:
(a) Oreo cookies - 12 X Pack of 3s

(b) Cream cheese - We opted

Total Damage: RM 36.40!!!

Second Truffles Stop: The Home

Once we got home, we set off to work. Me, crushing the oreos with a pestle, and Jocelyn on her maths homework. All the time with music from my phone blaring on the background.

I crushed all 12 packets of the oreos and started pouring them into a bowl. We didnt use up all the 12 packets, only 6 since we saw how those oreos powder accumlated to a little hill. As it was an experimental work, we do not want to risk wasting all the ingredients.

Crushed oreos:

Then we added in the cream cheese and mix everything evenly until they look like this:

Step 3 is to roll the oreo+cream cheese mix into little balls. Jocelyn tried making various shapes but i would say that they arent too apetizing aesthetically. hehe. And the work of rolling got our hands all oily-so you can just imagine just how fatty the truffles will be.

Next step is to put these little balls into the refrigerator so that they will be harden enough to be dipped into chocolate without smithering into pieces.

While waiting for the lil balls to harden, we started melting the chocolate. We love the chocolate, after all its Hersheys, but we figured it was too thick and a lot went wasted cause they were sticking on the bowl too much.

The dipping process:

This is definitely the toughest part of the whole procedure. We are just not good at this. Chocolates keep driping down the truffles and cause a mess on the plates (and again...chocolate wastage).

You will see toothpicks sticking out from the lil balls. Thats because we figured it will be easier to do the dipping if we can catch hold of the toothpick and just toss and turn the lil balls in the chocolate concoction.

We were very much mistaken though. The chocolate was just too thick to move the fragile lil balls in there.

Despite being rather skill-less, we managed to do this:

And the best of all, it was yummy yummy yummy!

Hmmm...and did i mentioned calories loaden? Arrr....the appeal of sinful food. =P

That Thing With Robbers

2010-03-17T05:11:00.000+01:00

That thing with robbers is that they are plain stupid!

Honestly stupid is an understatement for someone foolish enough to make a living by stealing at broad daylight. Seriously, i wouldn't find much issues with these people if not for happened yesterday.

Mum was robbed on her way home from work.

As usual she was cycling home from work in her faithful rickety bike. Out of the corner of her eyes, she glimpsed two men on a bike cruising rather close to her. Not long after, said men took a different road.

Mum, of course, was relieved beyond words. It was then that the unexpected happened.

The mean robbers made a detour, got so close to my mum's bike and snatched her recycled bag that was perched on the front basket of her bicycle.

Honestly, we thank God that those idiots didn't attempt to hurt her. Except for being scared, mum is generally fine.

And as for the robbers.....congratulations for successfully snatching an apron, a can of Sprite, a few packets of cookies and a single key.

A 5 days Stint - A Chronology

2010-03-06T08:38:00.000+01:00

1 March 2010First day of work as a content writer for a renowned education centre in Kuala Lumpur.
People work with the tidak-apa attitude and no one told me what the heck to do.
Traffic sucks and having to depend on everyone else for almost everything is so bitter.
Hate Kuala Lumpur. It is so not for me.

2 March 2010

Second day at work, decided to take matters in my own hand since i am sure no one will be able to help me out.
Traffic still sucks. Weather was a disaster.
Scorching hot sun which transformed into a heavy thunderous shower in the evening.
I was caught in storm, a red umbrella in hand, with wind moving fiercely in my direction.
My clothes were drenched. My shoes decided to call it a day as the sole started peeling off.
Hate Kuala Lumpur.

3 March 2010

On work / off work. Another nonchalant day.
Crowd in the train was overwhelming. After work hours are like a stampede race.
Still hate Kuala Lumpur. Decided to do something about it.

4 March 2010

Woke up in the morning determined to go back home.
Havent been sleeping since i moved here into the chaotic city.
Traffic remains yucky and my heart remains heavy.
And then something happened that brightened my day for a lil.
Was sitting at the bus stop waiting for Natelie when a bus came to a halt in front of me.
I frantically waved my hand and shaked my head signalling that i am not waiting for a bus.
The driver flashed me a warm smile, shook his head, and pointed at the alighting passengers.
I returned the smile as the he waved me goodbye.
Wouldnt it be great if there are more people like him out there?

5 March 2010

Handed in my resignation letter and putting an official end to my 5 days stint in the capital.
Perhaps the city promises more but nothing beats the yearning of going home.
I am glad i will be home soon.

That Solstice of 1999

2009-12-22T16:31:00.001+01:00

冬至 22 December 1999

The Solstice has always mean family reunion and tang yuens until the faithful 冬至 of 1999. The news wasnt an encouraging one. You have to stay a nite in the hospital for further examination due to the sudden bleeding. Mom hurriedly packed her bags and got the next bus to Kuala Lumpur.

Nevertheless, we have not expect things to be bleaked. After all, you have the will. The will to survive and see us growing up, having families, providing for us, and most importantly, the will of just being here, with us, for us.

23 December 1999

My family summoned me home from work. I know it was for the worst. So it was the day you left. You finally left. It was the worst feeling in the world. And it is still the worst feeling in the world, remembering the moment, and how all unsaid words will remain unsaid. Ten years have never heal the pain of losing someone so dear. Guess it will never.

Wonder if you will be proud of us when you see us now.

We love you dad.

Mission ABC Soup

2009-12-19T15:19:00.003+01:00

Mission Code: The ABC Soup

I dont know why the ABC soup is named such. Well, so you have the common potatoes, and carrots and tomatoes, but i still couldnt string out the ABC. Nevertheless, lo and behold was my first ever attempt (yup yup, you read me right) in making a soup (of any kind) so i bet that is pretty worth documenting too.

I am really bad at cooking. Like seriously crazily really-cant-be-help-bad. I dont even know if i should first:
(a) let the water boil and then dump the ingredients in, OR
(b) dump everything in the water and boil everything at one go.

But fret not. I called the helpline which was home. How smart is that *beams beams beams*

So there it goes:

STEP 1:
Microwave the frozen chicken cutlets to defrost.

Note to Self: Its wise to first blanch the chicken in boiling water prior to cooking them with the rest of ingredients. Less fats.

STEP 2:
Chop up everthing else into pieces.

Oh, i did succesfully took a what-i-think-is-a-pretty-neat-picture-of-a-tomato. So i am posting an individual picture of the delicious tomato which now rest peacefully in within my tummy.

STEP 3:

Dump everything into a pot of water (really dont know for sure the amount of water, just as much as i like) and boil away.

STEP 4:
Add in the onions. Mom said they taste better added in last. Dont ask me why.

STEP 5:

After waiting impatiently for an hour (well, i was hungry and was dying to taste my first ever soup!!!), now i have got my nom nom. *salivates*

A full tummy makes a happy girlie. =)

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

f.o.u.n.d

2009-12-18T09:34:00.000+01:00

good morning world!

Found on the headboard this morning:

and stuck on the fridge door:

That makes a good start for the weekend. =)

Am Back wink wink wink

2009-12-17T17:07:00.002+01:00

I never thought i would resume blogging on toothyfairy. For a brief second, i have even contemplate on deleting the whole blog and start with a brand new one. And then a sudden realization hit me with a pang. The past is a history, every experience is a lesson learnt and tomorrow is yet another brand new day.

So i am welcoming myself back to the blogosphere. =) Hopefully the month of December 2009 will be the starting point of me documenting the marvelous adventure which is life. <3

2009-08-23T14:04:00.001+02:00

it suddenly occurs to me that the only one person that i have ever hurt so bad is he who have loved me for almost half of his life

Post-updates:

somehow i figure its for the better. I guess i finally come to my sense which i should totally have like a whole year back. Bravo toothy!

2008-12-07T11:11:00.000+01:00

I went and watcged Madagascar alone today.

Cried and laugh through the scenes. Yup, cried, cause it reminded me of things surrounding my life.

Guess i will have to gradually learn to being alone.

Never know that when conversation ceases, life suddenly turned so hard to get by.

Saw the bandages on you and it pains me tremendously.

How can i live on seeing you hurting yourself that way?

But what can i do when words of concern were repaid with an air of coolness.

Now I am left to do is to hide away my silent tears.

"These wounds wont seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase"

Finally

2008-11-24T09:26:00.000+01:00

Finally come to term that i must let this go.

Do i feel the hurt?

As much as he does.

Will anything make the pain better?

No...it cant be undone

Will i look back and regret this?

i summed up all courage not to.

How do i faced others that think i have been wrong?

i need only to convince myself.

Where do i go from here?

Anywhere my heart tells me to.

How do i face another day with him?

i pray that my tears blur my eyes so that i cant see the pain in his face.

Why is it so hard and you still decided to do this?

i need to chase after that voice in my heart.

This is my greatest lost...not yours.

************

First week of September

2008-09-11T05:18:00.000+02:00

UPDATES!

September is gonna be crazily BUSSSYYYYY.

FISRT WEEK OF SEPTEMBER

Last week i went back home. Took friday half day off and a Monday full day off. Was thinking i could chao at 1pm sharp on Friday and then rush bcak to pack and then rush to the Checkpoint to beat the rowdy after work crowd. And there was this breakfast meeting on Friday morning at a Bah Kut Teh store somewhere in Kallang, so it was kinda prolonged cause by the time we got back to office it was nearly 12pm and i was VOILA! VOILA! (secretly happy) cause theres only another hour to go before i can grab my bag, say my goodbyes and run out of the office.

Mana tau, malang memang tidak berbau. I turned on my laptop and it was drowning with emails. The week have been pretty slow, i have never thought of this sudden influx of work especially on a Friday, lagi lagi on the day that i am supposed to go on half-day. So at the end of the day, i left the office at 2pm++. KK was waiting for me at the train station so his face was like all-black. Cant blame him. He waited for an hour. Worst still, i forgot to bring my cell phone to work and he cant locate me. He called me in the office and it just happens that i wasnt on my desk. So i said sorry, and i was indeed very very sorry. But KK still muka hitam lor...he said he is used to such waiting (my fault), but he is mad cause he is extremely hungry. I am scared of hungry man.

Anyway, we still manage to beat the traffic ler. The checkpoint was a breeze. It took less than 5 minutes to be cleared. How i wish this happens all the time. The rest of the events were just well, uneventful. We walked around JB City Square aimlessly, we took our dinner at Kim Gary, we bought some DVDs and the board a cab to Larkin. As our bus will not leave until 45 mins later, we hogged around in McD, tumpang meja with a Chinese guy. He seems okay la...and suddenly this girl came along with the 'Five-Star-Auntie-Travel-Bag', who is a friend of this chinese guy and she was like totally ignore us, trying to squeeze past my seat, dump her bag on the dirty McD floor and then asked the chinese guy if he wanted to find somewhere else to sit.

Thats very annoying already. So the chinese guy said no. The next thing i know is that she started squeezing past my seat again. She was mumbling something about eating dinner. Sien...cant she say excuse me?!!! Five minutes later she came back with a tray full of food, wanna squeeze past me again, in order to prevent the possibility of ever having her coke spilt on me, i stood up and allowed her to passed. She went pass and sat down and started chomping her food without so much of a THANK YOU ler!!!! I got super pissed. Then KK bad-mouthed her...hahha..through sms...funny, KK sat right opposite me and wrote me an sms telling me how he think the girl is so stucked-up.

So i got back to reading my Short History of China (which i got from the public library), KK was playing with his Nokia navigator, the girl was eating cum chatting with the chinese guy. They were talking about people who have got the ability to see 'things' and how 'donno-who-No-1' granny was dead and this 'donno-who-No-2' attended the funeral and saw 'donno-who-No-1' granny came back riding on a lotus flower. She reckoned the granny is a deity already. Then they talked about what you can to do to be able to see 'things'. More interesting than my Short History of China definitely.

Reached home early Sat morning, Kit came and fetch me home at 5am. Two rings and she quickly got to the phone already. I am so touched. Her biological clock surely have been preparing for this. I know how that feels, like when you have a super appoinment the next day that you just cant miss or cant be late, this biological clock thing just kept you extremely alert, you are not really sleeping though you are sleeping. Awesome human body, but can be also pretty tiring like that.

Then on Sat nite, it was 3am, mom woke me up to drink 'yin-wo'. The last time i went home, mom also woke me up at the same hour to consume the 'yin-wo' she painstakingly brewed for us. But that time i was in a very sleepy mode, and since mom already placed the 'yin-wo' right next to my bed, i sat up and gulped it all down. Not very appreciative and a totally waste of food la. But this time, though mom served it right next to my bed, i got up, brought the yin-wo to the living room, switch on the TV and eat while watching. Astro early morning shows are awful anyway. Repeats, repeats and more repeats.

Sunday nite was spend attending bagan's wedding dinner. The highlight of the nite was CheeYan's showing off his vocal ability. Then time kinda idle. I wish i dont have to do that if i ever get married. I mean, traditional chinese wedding dinner. I cant take it. FULL STOP. I lagi cant take it when people smoke in air-conditioned room and make the whole place looked like Genting Highland. Smelly one at that. Toxic smell lagi......make me wanna plaster NO SMOKING sign on their faces.

Rest of the time was spend eating and hanging out with Kit, Jocelyn and Jason. Went detour to Chew Bookstore after picking Jason and Jocelyn from school to spy on Kit Lou's GF. Hahah...wu lioa.

Home is where the heart is (despite all the wu-liaoness)!

**************

2008-08-28T04:07:00.000+02:00

The office is so cold today that i can easily close by eyes and be transported to the Antartic. I drew the blind hoping for some sunlight to stream in. Out there it pours like cats and dogs. Weirdly, i cant hear a single sound of rain splasihng on the window though i am seated right next to one.

My boss always said that it took him years to earn himself a seat with a view, and that we are super duper lucky we have one now. Even one that oversees a parking lot. How truly inspiring. Okay, i admit that it is not that bad, a parking lot and the Water Coopers Building. The blind is always tightly drawn. Make not much difference really on whats out there.

I have got millions things to attend to but there are also million of thoughts in my head. I find my lack of concentration and self control to be extremely depressing. I know i should be able to control myself better than this but i always ended up succumbing to things that i am fully aware that i am not supposed to be doing.

Like blogging at work

Like spending a hundred dollars buying skin care products that i can live without

Like eating pringles after dinner

Like buying more shoes when i dont even any space for them

Like gorging on donuts and then regreted that i did

Like getting upset over tiny matters which spurs nagging frm KK

Like some many other things that i cant recall

I think i need to be in more control of myself.

2008-08-26T03:47:00.000+02:00

Went and watched Wall-E in the cinema yesterday. Didnt know that its gonna bloom into a love story. Now i know robots can love too. Hehe... Kept telling KK that EVE looks like the manipulation of Casper in a robotic nature.

I lurve it. Always love Pixar but still find Finding Nemo a little more tantalizing.

Animation totally sells and i already so want to watch Madagascar 2, Escape to Africa (but how come penguins wanna escape to Africa too, eh?) . The trailer itself is super cool and super cant wait. Dont know when it will be showing in the cinema.

Harry Potter is scheduled to be screen next year. DUH! I lost count if is Half Blood Prince or the Order of the Phoenix. But i have this feeling its the Half Blood Prince. Honestly, i find HP more interesting on books rather than the big screen. But no HP fan can ever miss any HP film. Arghh, suddenly feel like going back and read the Deathly Hallow...

Its 30mins to luch and i am blogging...lost my attention...

2008-08-21T05:00:00.000+02:00

I was dying for a superb showdown in Men's Badminton Single FINAL.

All geared up to cheer for Lee Chong Wei.

So sad that he lost timidly. I think he try his best. Just never DO his best. Make some difference there.

Horray to Malaysian tax payers......300K sits happily in Lee Chong Wei's pocket already.

Found Lee Chong Wei's friendster profile:

http://profiles.friendster.com/user.php?uid=21301747

His photos descriptions are ..... judge for yourself la....

P/s: I wish i could wake up tomorrow and suddenly blessed with this super human power that allow me to do bcakflips like eating kacang.

2008-08-11T02:44:00.000+02:00

This is a sneak preview of a documentary i watched yesterday:

MAD About ENGLISH

A MONTH OF THE HUNGRY GHOST

The thing about watching documentary and how it differs from watching other fictional stories is the fact that i think documentary really set people thinking and of course it gave you in sights into other people culture and beliefs.

First time watching documentary in the cinema. Not bad really...

2008-08-08T02:43:00.000+02:00

August is great

The Beijing Olympic kickstarts TONITE! With what i hope a mega-grand opening ceremony directed non other than the very very talented Zhang Yimou. He is the name behind the infamous productions including the likes of House of Flying Daggers, Hero, etc. I wanna watch in YouTube, just to show that i am a stucked-up Tech geek. Actually its because i am going for the KTV tonite and i will probably miss the whole episode when i got home later. Lucky there is internet. Save my Day!

I wanna stuck in front of TV whole day watching sporting events. Good reason for not exercising. Good reasons for not wanting to accept friends 'shopping-spree' invitation (the real reason is me being plain broke...and this is like what...8 days into the month of August. Voila~).

Fave sporting event, all time fave is non other than: SWIMMING

I cant swim for the life of me...but i super love the competitiveness in the pool and the adrenaline rush and the fact that a world champion can be born in a matter of less than a minute. And whats more interesting about the Beijing Summer Game is the fact that Phelps-&-his-eight-golds-chase. Will be fun to watch, but i couldnt be sure its gonna work though. Eight golds in eight events, he gonna be burnt out half way (subconcious mind said: maybe not....he is not great for nothing you know) but anyway i bet the Aussies and the Jap also his fellow Americans will prove the quest to be a really tough one.

I also watch gymnastic and everyting featuring team Malaysia! No explanation to that. Dont tell me that if a Malaysian is pitted against an angmoh and you will tend to side the angmoh. Sure support our countrymen la, although most of the times it can turn out to be pretty depressing. Finger cross many many times on that.

August is great.

The NDP is on full-fledge. Saw heaps of school children dressing up in the red top and white bottom trotting their way to school. They must be feeling like very patriotic. And then i bumped into another boy dressed in white top and red pants. I think he is gonna cried his heart out when he reached school and get buried by the sea of reds. Maybe he forget his dress code and got them mismatch. Two lil indian gals walking beside their mom, waving their handmade national flag.

I used to find difficulty drawing my national flag, What with the stars having 14 sharp points...and i can never get it done at one go. I love drawing the state flag though. A rectangle, 2 lines creating 3 separate blanks and then color them in white, yellow and black. Cool & easy. The Sabahans will need to draw their nation-pride 'the Kinabalu' and the Penangnites having to draw their Pinang tree, not to mention the Kedahan needed to draw the rice grains. Perak flag is considered not bad la...but still pale in comparison to the people of Pahang.

Anyway, August is great because with NDP you get to see the blast of firework!

Random

2008-08-03T05:31:00.000+02:00

This is a damn indecisive morning. I jolted up havin this funny urge to do some exercise. This is a good thing consider that i am getting super WIDE (size wise) and my cholesterol level is 205 / 200 which shows that i am not at all healthy. The doctor said i shold really go out and get myself some exercise. I kept telling myself snce i walk to and from the mrt staion daily, it will be fine. Who am i to cheat eh?

I was so hungry after the jog. I thought i could and grab some toast and a cup of ice blended mocha fro coffee bean. Theres no better way to pamper oneself on a sunday morning rather than have a good run and drown oneself with a cup of enticing mocha. While walking to the Coffee Bean outlet, sudddenly i am overwhelm with this thought that having too much coffee is really bad...for the skin especially. Theres this lil voice in me that kinda urge me to stop considering the mocha and buy celery soya instead. So it is the ultimate battle between a cup of mocha and a cup of celery flavoured soya milk.

i decided on the mocha. So i bought the mocha. And then i desperately felt like i need the celery soya too. So...i bought both. I finish my celery soya in a record five minutes and i was so bloated i decided the mocha shall be kept in the fridge for the time being. And i have not ate a single solid stuff since i down the celery soya. Still so damn full. I think thats how people manage to follow liquid diet, where they dont eat anything but only drink liquid stuffs that are low in calories and full of fibre which promotes lotsa trips to toilets...and make people who follow this diet feel as if they are extremely detoxify and thin. Shudder`.....how can one resist food...though i am small eater, but i love food,esp Japenese! My favourite!!!

Thats picture of some Jap food that we (me, alice, Candy & Jean) have during my Birthday at a Jap Buffet Restaurant that i cant remember what its call. Wateva...its next to the Toys R' Us @ Suntec Tower Two (I think..hahha). So delicious....we only have time to take some pic before digging in with the food. YUMMY! and the ice-cream is free, and we kept Q-ing and re-Q-ing for it. Finally we managed to get so many ice-cream that we can tapau home.

And this is the pic of the Forever 21 skirt from alice, candy and Jean. Lurve it...not something that i will buy if i go shopping myself, cause pretty unsure that i will be able to carry a 'pom-pom' skirt. Turned out, it is super luverly. Reall cant judge and should try on more different fashion items.

Other pressies include:

All bags from KK (hehe)! And a new green floral tote from KK that i have not managed to snap pics of. Thank you KK! Three bags in a row!

Other random pictures include:

This man who decided to take his afternoon nap at Siloso beach...and trust me, he really sleep very peacefully wan. I was watching for 15 minutes and he didnt even stirred a bit. I know thats really wu lioa to watch a stranger for that long, but i found him to be really funny lor.

Bought 5CDs at Woodlands during GSS for $14.90! All authentic wan ler, albeit a lil outdated. But super worth la...

My Sphagetti carbonara, order from a roadside stall at Marina Bay. Delicious...ada standard!

***********

Feel like i need to go and travel. Going to BKK again in Sept!!! BUY BUY BUY!!!

But need the sun and the sea......when can i go back to Mabul for some diving

Really wish to travel....SIGH~

*************

......Thats All..... (ends abruptly)

2008-07-14T06:06:00.000+02:00

I hate funny sentences that doesnt translate into anything. I just feel that it is so lame...like serve no purposes at all...totally duh...for example:

" I am your princess cat. I am your lover"

Tell me whats that supposed to mean?! Meow meow!! Is this a princess cat---like the princess of all cats...or is this a princess' cat---like a cat that belongs to a princess, which will make anyone owning the cat a princess.

And why suddenly i am your lover? What is it with princess and lover? Who want a cat lover? I super dont like cats. Not like hate. Just super duper dont like them. I remember i once jumped onto a canteen bench when a cat strolled past brushing its fur against my legs.

"If i could reach the stars,

i'd pull one down for you shine it on my heart"

I cant at all comprehend the sentence. Okay...so pull a star down from the sky and you shine it against someone's heart? Cant really comprehend what does it mean by 'shine it on my heart'.

"It rained yesterday from morning till night"

SO??????

"I always beside you when you put me into your heart"

Maybe better than "I always inside you when you put me into your heart"

This is just a random pic of an ugly Po.

2008-06-30T12:48:00.000+02:00

The train was extremely congested.

A lady with a huge belly, clearly a few months pregnant walked into the train. She looked around surveying for a seat.

No one dares meet her eyes.

An immaculatly dressed lady lifted her head from her book. She glanced around the compartment. Her eyes rested on the pregnant lady. Nonchalantly, she continued her reading.

Turned out she is reading a bible.

Dreaming in a Dream

2008-06-22T07:43:00.000+02:00

First i am gonna write about a silly, creepy dream that i had:

Today is extremely bad cause i have a bad bad dream.

I was dreaming in my dream. And its those dream where you feel like you are actually very consious and you mind is actually working and you try desperately to peel your eyes open and then you realize you just cant.

And the worst part was in the dream i was very very stupid. I was in a class with lotsa people, and then the bell rang and everyone started packing and i dont know why i was very slow and i was left behind.

So when i finally finish packing, i started running after all those people and they are gone. So i was looking at the books i am holding and i find that to be Form4 textbooks. And then suddenly i felt super ridiculuos cause it just hit me that i am not a Form4 student!!!

And i donno when i suddenly got transported into my bedroom and i was sleeping.

I was trying very hard to wake up and i cant and i felt like theres this 'force' trying to escape my body. And i remember i pray and then i woke up and i went out to the living room and its all dark.

And it feels creepy cause it was raining very hard too and then theres this room, which i have never seen. It has got this sheer white curtain that flaps in the wind, and i have a very strong feeling that i shouldnt go in, so i headed back into my room.

And then...i am awake. For real this time. Super anti-climax dream.

Stupid!

And then some updates of last week happenings:

First and foremost....the malacca trip with my buddies (ie: coursemates)

Some pictures:

So these are my coursemates. All microbiologists. Diana is not in the pic. Jian Xin and Ah Lim too, if not this will be nearly a 'complete' outing. Theres only 12 chinese in my class then. So we were pretty close knit i will say. And it was a sinfully fun outing cause it was a food hunt all along.

Okay....gang pictures. Obviously some are not my coursemates. The number of people grew cause everyone seems to be attached now. Good things...wedding bells soon i supposed.

And then theres YinYin's and Viet's wedding:

more photos:

I arrived in Hotel Istana from Malacca in my casual gear and i nearly drop down and die seeing my buddies in that super gorgeous elegant dresses and having their hair style up like dollies...........i was so so so underdress. I mean though i actually bring along a dress for change, i just feel that they are smashing.

Super paiseh cause i really didnt prepare much, didnt even bring make-ups,etc (i dont have any actually) and Meg hafta do it for me once i arrive in Hotel Istana. But hey...i did gave ang pow okay!!!

Nevertheless i enjoyed myself catching up these people. Great nite really and YinYin is superbly gorgeous. Many thank yous to Meg and PuiSee for putting me up for a nite. Muaks muaks gal!

Wanna write about some random thoughts.

Maybe later.....

7th June 2008

2008-06-07T12:30:00.000+02:00

This is a very random entry.

First some random pics of what i ate for lunch for the past 5 working days.

MONDAY

Yong Tau Foo - with 2pcs of taufu and 3 stalk of veges ...cost SGD2.40

TUESDAY

Kway Chap - KK was suprised i ate this. But...its kway chap without the 'chap'...meaning no internal organs, bla bla bla. Just tofu and egg, salted vege and siew yuk (which i dont eat). This cost me SGD3.70

WEDNESDAY

Red Bean Soup and Pumpkin Cake - SGD 1.60 (my cheapest lunch ever, not counting me eating cup noodles in office)

THURSDAY

Green Salad with Tuna - Super love this. Its not just healthy, but the portion is really big too. Very very delicious. Tried honey olive oil dressing. But i think lemon olive well is even tastier. Cost me SGD4

FRIDAY

Yong Tau Foo AGAIN - Too busy in office, so tapau. 2 pcs of young tau foo and 2 stalks of vege, cost me SGD 2.30 (30cents for the container)

Secondly some random pics of things i managed to snatch today while shopping in City Square JB. The exchange rate rite now is SGD1 to RM2.345. I changed SGD 50 to RM117. With this amount of $$$$$, i manage to buy these:

3 pairs of shoes. All for only RM90.97 (approx SGD39) !!!!!

Hahaha...nothing can be happier than that!!!!!

End of random blog.

Because i love it

2008-05-25T03:54:00.000+02:00

Because i love Accuracy of Death so much...i am gonna post:

the movie sypnosis:

Genre: Drama

Director: Masaya Kekehi

Cast: Takeshi Kaneshiro , Manami Konishi, Sumiko Fuji, Ken Mitsuishi, Takuya Ishida, Jun Murakami, Erika Okuda, Mitsuru Fukikoshi

RunTime: 1 hr 55 mins

Released By: InnoForm Media, Festive Films & GVRating:

PGOfficial Website: www.festivefilms.com/accuracy

Adapted from the bestselling novel by Kotaro Isaka “The Accuracy of Death”. Chiba (Takeshi Kaneshiro) appears seven days before a person dies an unexpected death. His job is to observe the person for seven days, and then decide either to ‘execute’ or ‘pass over’. Getting his work quickly out of the way, he goes to the listening booth of a CD shop and indulges in his favorite pastime, listening to ‘humanity’s greatest invention’: music.He is...a Grim Reaper. Today, again, in the rain, he waits. His subject, her death due in seven days, is Kazue Fujiki (Manami Konishi), 27. She works for a manufacturing company, in the complaints department. Exhausted after her day, she emerges from her office. It’s time for the Reaper to go to work.

The Movie Poster:

Some Random Pics from the Movie:

And The trailer:

Love the twist of the story. I say this is a good one. Go watch people!

2008-05-24T13:50:00.000+02:00

I was reading the newspaper and there is a certain article relating to a man, prior to taking his own life, proceeded to delete his profile from Facebook.

Kinda giving me the feeling that deleting a Facebook / Friendster / MySpace profile could actually mean the end of it all. the final goodbye and the ultimate thing to do before you leave the world.

Make me wonder will my online profiles also grow old with me?

Or will it be abandon when i hit a later stage of life?

Or will i still be posing pictures, poke at my frens, sending them hugs and online kisses or even owning them for only a dollar when i am like...say 65?

Oh yea...that for me is old enough!

Wonder...wonder...wonder.

But it will be farnee too cause all my friends on my Facebook / Friendster will also look as old as me.

2008-05-12T04:07:00.001+02:00

Its like so so fast...suddenly we are 5 months into the year 2008. And before we know it it will be another year gone and suddenly you have so many friends getting married and people kept sending you wedding cards. And it makes me feel like super ultra old and it reminded me of the beginning of the next phase of life, which is marriage and family.

Weirdly, it also makes me scared. Its not the idea of being with a single person for all my life, its more like an idea of tolerating him, which i think is a must, cause relationship is all give and take, but also to the idea of tolerating his family members which make it the complete package. Suddenly from one family, then you are having two. The thought itself is really putting me off. I read in the paper last week that the most essential item these days that determine marriage is the fact if one actually owns an apartment. I cant help but agree to this. Being married and having tonnes of people parading themselves around you can be really sick. More so if these people talk too much.

Come to think of it, i am pretty much a sucker in this department. Mostly because i wanted him to tolerate my family while i cant stand his. Which make it damn bad, cause its just not rite to be so stucked up. But at the same time, i tried, its just so........hard.

Anyway, please have a look a this.

Yea, i know its extremely small and you cant read this rite here. But its a paper cutting out from a Singapore daily, where MM Lee Kuan Yew sorta like shed some light on what he think differ Malaysians from our neighbours acroos the causeway.

I Quote Him (refering to Malaysian):

======================

"Its the mental approach. They go to different schools to begin with. Chinese go to chinese schools, Indians go to Tamil schools, Malays go to National schools where they learn Malay and religion. And when they meet in university, they dont want to share rooms, or they dont fraternise"

========================

So much so for a Minister Mentor la. I think he should be invited to tour the school grounds as well as uni campuses lor. Maybe it was like that during the Brits era. But now national schools are for all races and you can also find malays and indians studying in chinese schools. I came from a national school and yes, i fraternise with the malays and indians, and i share rooms with other indian gals during my uni years. Maybe the mentor should just keep this shallow statement to himself lor. Pissed me off nia.

My Very First Attempt

2008-04-27T16:42:00.000+02:00

i am completely hopeless in cooking. Everytime i do step into kitchen, that will be making salad, sandwich...or the likes, which require no cooking, stirring, frying, etc.

Yesterday was the first time in my 25years 10months of life, attempting to cook a porridge. Wont even be doing if not for the fact that ah boo was bitten by a jellyfish. You dont wanna see the wound. Gets really bad, never know jellyfish, which look really awesome through the aquarium could give someone so nasty sting. Blergh...no pics of the injury here...for those who are concern,ah boo is completely fine, except for the affected area, where it actually started getting itchy. Otherwise, he is good.

So i thought i wanna cook some really wholesome, tasty, nutritious porridge. Went to NTUC, get all the ingredient that i want...which include australian baby carrots, celery, my fave Del Monte Corn kernel and some shredded chicken. I swear i thought it was easy. Cause i kept thinking cooking porridge means adding lots water to the rice, add in whatever ingredient that you want and boil it. Then VOILA...you get the porridge.

So i got started with washing the veges and all. I actually soaked them first.

And while the veges are soaking, i cook the shredded chicken. Cause the packaging says 'Shredded Chicken', i really thought its gonna look really nicely shredded and all after cooking. But i was sooooo wrong. When i dump the chicken into the boiling water, it turned into clump. So i have to start shredding them myself, with fork and spoon. And that makes the chicken looks a lil ugly, but i figured its okay cause its gonna be like blended into the porridge and everythin will be just white and no one's gonna notice the not-so-perfect shredded chicken.

Next i chopped up all my veges. Another long process. The baby carrots turned out to be a lil too hard. I figured i could boil it to soften it but at the same time all the vitamins found in there will also be gone. So i took out the peeler, peel the carrot by layers, and then cut them up using a pair of scissors! I think that was brilliant!

Then i cut up all the celery, add in my fave Del Monte corn kernel, and as you can see, its looks really healthy. I was pretty pleased. Then i started cooking the porridge and thats when the mayhem began. First, i do not know how much rice to cook. So i 'cincai' 'agak agak' took some rice, add in lotda water and start cooking. And then suddenly i felt like it might not be enough, so i took some more, add them all in.

Secondly, when i say i add in a lot of water, i really thought i did added in alot. Within minutes, the whole thing started to bubbled and i can hear hissing sound coming from the pot. The water were boiling. I switched off the gas, but then i find it weird cause i am positive that the rice is not cooked yet. I added in more water...and same thing happened again...so i ended up, standing rite there, next to the pan, looking, waiting...stiring...

Miraculously after some time, the rice soften, i added in all the other ingredients, let it simmers a bit and then i was done.

Didnt took picture of the final product. Definitely edible, but looked alot like HanHan's porridge. The baby type of porridge...but it wasnt that bad considering it was a first attempt and there was no complain from Ah Boo.

As for myself, i think i wanna play safe with a salad!

My Tokyo Chicken Stew Blergh!

2008-04-25T15:16:00.000+02:00

I wasnt hungry...but i thoight i wouldnt wanna skip my dinner. So i bought a Tokyo Chicken Stew. Thought its gonna be good, surfing in room, slurping soup, MSN-ing (yea, FRIDAY Nite, Yea!!! - No Life!).

Turned out the soup is SOOOOO SALTY. One gulp and i know my blood pressure is gonna go sky-rocketting high. Gave up my soup at first gulp. And thats SGD6.20....right there in the dustbin. So long for a Tokyo Chicken Stew.

REGRET!

Moving into the new room

2008-04-17T06:22:00.000+02:00

Today, i moved into a room in the office. Not like i become so 'keng' to the extent that i am given a brand new room. Just that the office population is expanding so much that i will have to be relocate to a new work station, which is in a room.

I hate relocating.

Relocating means having to use a new laptop. Which is equals to 'sien' cause hafta reformat everything and my outlook from the desktop being transfer to the laptop and facing with probability that i might lose some data or even worst my calendar. And then theres the fact that i will hafta link the whole new system to the server least i cant access the files. SIEN. to the max! And now i am facing some problem accessing the general email. DUH!!!
Relocating means moving away from the crowd into solitary lifestyle. Me and the room and the blasting air-con, thats all i have. SIEN, again. Its super the very very cold. My fingers also will get numb which make typing like carrying a truckload of stones. And not to mention facing the wall all day, no human contact. NO LIVE! Hate to relocate!
Relocating also means having to exert a high self-control. When no one is watching, you wouldnt wanna be blogging (ahem), facebooking, or just randomly net-surfing. But very hard to resist the temptation esp when you are in the office like 12 hours of the day.

I still have not found a good reason to this. I hate the room.

2008-04-12T04:29:00.000+02:00

Being back from Bangkok for a week. Slogging in the office from Monday to Wednesday, catching up with all works that needed to be done while i am away on course. Literally i am in the office from 8am to 8pm daily, thats 12 hours of the 24 a day. And then suddenly i had this full blown flu that strck me on Wednesday nite. By Thursday morning, it had already turn into a 38.8 Celcius fever. The doctor said i shouldnt get back to work. Not for Thursday, as well as the day after. Now that its Saturday, the fever is officially gone but i still feel a lil unease especially in the head. Very very heavy. Maybe its juts too much thinking, especially on my assignments, drafting specifications for a drinking lid. Thats taking the toll of my life i guess.

Talking about bein in Bangkok. That was my very first time. Do i like it? As a tourist destination, i will say a big NO NO. Apart from getting to buy things really really cheap, i really dont feel the allure of Bangkok as a tourist destination. Its hot, its stuffy, its heavily polluted, the traffic is bad, the people are too many and yea...thats about it. Bangkok makes KL looks like a very ideal place to stay indeed.

I dont get much chance to go any sight seeing cause i am there on a course for five days. Arriving in Bangkok on a Sunday evening, and departing on Saturday the week after. But upon having thorw our baggages into the hotel, we manage to get to the widely-renowed weekend market that everyone swear i should be visiting - - -- - - The Chatuchak Weekeend Market!

The market is HUGEEEE!!!! It seems like everything that can be made available can be found in this weekend market and in a considerably cheap price too! I think if i am still earning Ringgit, i will not be too happy about the price. According to mates in the course from Malaysia, they think that the prices in Bangkok have got no diffrence from the prices in KL. But fellow Europeans think other-wise. They actually went and make themselves suits-comprising two tailor made coats and pants, 8 long sleeves shirts and 2 silk ties- all for 15,000 bath which i presume equals to about 300 euros and they are very happy people indeed. But its not too bad for people from Singapore. After conversion, a Singapore dollar is exchangable with 22.5 bath compared to a Ringgit with 9.9 bath. So things can still be considered fairly cheap for a 'kiam siap' consumer like me!

Nevertheless, i didnt bought much of anything cause like i said i am super 'kiam siap' can????My not very much of things included 4 handbags (okay...dont go wah wah wah first...1 for me, 1 for kit, 2 for ah LK's sis).And a dress and tonnes of cute cute keychains as souvenirs. That cost me like 50SGD. Which is so cheap right?

And we did try a local so-called delicacies. If sweetness can kill, you will definitely want to avoid this. There were so many people queeing up for this. We were cheated into having a try.

It is also in the market that you can see lotsa artsy people like child performer (i donno if he knows what tune he is carrying-but i donated nonetheless), street artist-where you can get your faces drawn with only 30 bath per person, and lotsa art hypies la......I dont know how to describe them. Just say they are people who are being inspired by Picasso.

So my verdict is......... YES...this is definitely one must go place if you ever go to Bangkok. A beautiful mixture of people and arts.....worth a look at!

2008-03-14T01:21:00.000+01:00

i saw the sun peeking out from the cloud today and the warmth of it lingering on my skin while i was on my way to work.

Welcome back sunny day! You have been well missed!

Proud Malaysian Rambles On...........

2008-03-10T05:18:00.000+01:00

I was glued to the TV set and computer screen last weekend as Malaysia decides their fate for the next five years. I have never been more engrossed in politics than for that mere hours where balloting tickets were counted nationwide, across the country, top guns fall one after another, some predictable some not-so. I remember Kit telling me that 'you might not know who the government might be when you wake up tomorrow'.

The opposition staged the biggest upset in the Malaysian history by winning 82 parlimentary seats. Big states up north fell to the Opposition and remarkably, Selangor too. It was a feeling of 'atonishment' and nothing else.

I have got no strong feeling for the Ruling Party, neither do i feel anything towards the opposition. I bet they are many neutral Malaysians out there who are just like me. Simple Malaysians bearing the pain of the ever increasing prices of basic neccesities. We need a way out, and so we make this drastic decision that we need to be well represented.

No one can be sure how effective the newly elected party could be. I figured at this moment we will all have to adopt the 'look-see' attitude but nevertheless, I am really proud of Malaysian finally getting their voice heard.

2008-03-07T05:36:00.000+01:00

I got an email that say:

Your HoroScope?

So i scroll down and it says:

Once you have opened this e-mail, there's no turning back. Below are True descriptions of zodiac signs.

And then i scroll to Cancer and it reads:

CANCER - The Protector ( June 21 - July 22)

Moody, emotional.
May be shy.
Very loving and caring.
Pretty/handsome.
Excellent partners for life.
Protective.
InventiveAnd imaginative.
Cautious.
Touchy-feely kind of person.
Needs love From others.
Easily hurt, but sympathetic.

16 years of bad luck if you do not forward.

So dont blame me if i fowarded you this. 16 years of bad luck...no joke!

Guilty nia...

2008-02-22T06:50:00.000+01:00

I gulp down the whole six inch of sinful Cheesy, mayo laden Subway Tuna Sandwich. Feel so guilty la. Its a really BIG sandwich ler. haha...i am amazed how i can manage that.

In order to kill that guiltiness in me, i went looking at the Subway site. www.subway.com. And to my suprise, the seemingly calorie rich lunch of mine is only like 250kcal!!!! Thats like even less than a medium size fries from the Golden Arch.

Man...i am happy. No skipping dinner. And happily get back to work!

2008-01-27T08:26:00.000+01:00

Sunday is a good day to laze around at home...doing nothing...reading totto chan and listening to a good cd, or just close your eyes and listen to the rain that splatters on your window, or making lunch for your beloved one.

Sunday is a good time to just relax and unwind and think positively of the week ahead. I know lotsa of people dont agree on this. Monday blue is for real.

Sunday is the 7th day of the week, the day that our Father rest after creating human on the sixth day. Thats why people go to church on Sunday to sing praises. But isnt Sunday the first day of the week,which we learn from teachers in school? So that makes Saturday the 7th day of the week! Like i always say some facts make people really 'mau tun' (canton)

Recently lotsa things brought me back to those days while i was in Tawau. It was pretty draggy cause i have so lil friends and the very lil friends that i have got have their own lives to attend to that most of the time i just slogged in my room counting down the days i could go home.Time were bad. I have only me, myself and i.

I love my job. I love it tremendously. But the time i spent being alone in my room affect me so much that sometimes i think the walls are pressing hard onto me and i cant breath and desperately hope that i can just jump onto the next plane home. Now things are different obvious. But i guess there are still things that make me remember the past. the nearly one year that i spent in Tawau.

I think in a way or another the one year stint did helped me grow up. It not much...but a lil. Every experience in life will definitely leave a print in your heart. For me, the most unforgetful part about that very shot venture is the people i have the privelege to meet.

Christy being my first friend in Tawau. Asking me to lunch and inviting me to her church functions and so wilingly fetch me to the airports and fro. SuTeng who came in to school in mid June and invited me to stay at her place and allowing me all the access in her place, FOC too. Daisy for being the live wire of the office. And us...calling ourselves CCWY!

My students, who listen to my babbles. My U6s, Cadee, Melissa,Amos, Nixon,Veman,Shiew,JiaMin and the likes, who treated me more like friends than a teacher. Which i like. My L6s, who organized a special farewell party for me so that i could cry and who planned a suprise gathering at the airport to bid me farewell. And all the sms-es that i got telling me how they enjoy my class and stuffs like that. People from church for being supportive and encouraging. Esther and Teen, also Paul. Never got the chance to really thank Paul for listening to my laments.

It was a short stint, but it was life enriching in a way that i might never again encounter. I really was blessed. Turns out, it wasnt that bad as i thought it will be.

2008-01-21T23:53:00.000+01:00

Last nite the TV serial finally come to an end. And the end sucks la. Its like a culture that all villains must die, if no then it will not be a good enough ending. So the villain of the show die-die also must die. Finally he died in the most unprofessional way. Being stabbed by a lil thief pretending to be a hotel staff. Like so...duh! Very thin plot towards the end.

Last nite i also finished my latest Nicholaas Sparks and this time the story ended in a way that make me wanna cry so much. They love each other, he went to war, she found new love, he came back, she were married, her husband was struck by melanoma, he donated all his monies anonymously, her husband gets well, he came back and watch her from a distance silently ever since then. hmmm..............

Very sad. Dont like it. Why cant love story be happy?

And this morning something really weird happened. Peope i am staying with always have bread for breakfast,. Everyday without fail. me too in a way. No complains about the bread. Really dont mind it. Breakfast is important, but heavy ones are too good i guess.

So today, like usual, we had bread for breakfast. The usual peanut butter. But the funny thing is that today someone decided to spread the peanut butter, not using a knife, but a fork!!! I can tolerate a spoon...but a fork?!!! Outta curiosity i tried to spread my bread with peanut butter with a fork. Of course it was do-able. But i guess i took a full minute to spread A SLICE of bread and not mention the spread was uneven and at the end of the whole process, the bread actually look a lil gross, cause the fork kinda like scrap onto the bread surface and all.

Man....found that really ridiculous Really got me wondering whose brilliant idea is that to spread butter with fork. And then it struck me as suddenly that this might be a trick. Cause you take so much time and effort to spread the butter onto a slice of bread, i think many people just don care to really spread the butter nicely or evenly, so in a long run it kinda cut down the consumption of peanut butter. When you buy less peanut butter, it means you save some money a month. I think my reasoning kinda make sense. But really, any smart person will just leave the fork alone and go grab a more efficient utensil.

Today my work piled up like hills again Sometimes the molehill turns into a mountain. Before CNY i gotta get lotsa stuffs clear, i know Everest is in the making. Weird, no matter how long i stayed at work, i cant seems to finish all my files. Not complaining. I dont mind being busy at all, funnily i am like a lil enjoying it. I think i deserved a pay rise.Hm.....if only my boss read this.

For your information, i wrote this entry in total darkness. I am alil impressed...hahha

2008-01-20T06:08:00.000+01:00

I woke up this morning starving to death. I was hungry when i go to bed but i always had been adamant about eating before bedtime cause it scare me thinking about those extra pounds that i will gain just by doing that. You can say that i have a very strict eating regiment. I realize my meal portion gets lil and lil by day, mostly because i worked so late and i get totally tired even to eat after work.

I have come to a point that i dont even wanna eat fried egg cause i think fried eggs are solid fats dipped in oil. Pathetic right? But i really cant help it a tiny bit. I peeled off my McEgg this morning layer by layer, discard the portion dripping with cheese, took out the egg yolk..the whole breakfast look gross but its okay cause i eat alone and i dont have anyone to impress. The coffee makes my heart skipped like nuts so i took three sips. I should get myself another apple juice instead.

Why do i start blooging about this? Haha...cause there is notthing else to blog about these days.

The other day, i had this sudden thought in my mind, about how the delivery people of McD, or KFC or Pizza Hut or whatever fast food outlets, you know how they risked their life delivering food to our doorsteps. All this happen when i saw a delivery guy zig zagging down the road and then it hit me like we consumers really shouldnt be so harsh on these people. The risk their life. Its like policeman, or the soldiers, or fireman. But its not like you get lotsa fires or wars around. So i think the these delivery people really are more exposed to disaster. Like ambulance driver.

I realize that when i get older, i tend to think a lot more too. Sometimes unrelated stuffs that suddenly found their ways into my head. Maybe thats why the hair turns gray.

My work is taking up all my time...i dont even have things to write about anymore. Its like i go to work, i come back home, i go to work again and i come back home...life!

The Very Last of Dodo

2007-12-30T01:21:00.001+01:00

In the early 1680s, far out in the Indian Ocean some 1300 km off the east coast of Madagsacar, some forgotten sailors or sailors' pet was harrying to death the last of the dodos, the famously flightless bird whose dim but trusting nature made it a rather irresistible target for bored young tars on shore leave.

Millions of years of peaceful ioslation had not prepared it for the erratic and deeply unnerving behaviour of human beings. We dont know exactly the circumstances, or even the year, attending the last moments of the last dodo.

The indignitis to the poor dodo didnt quite end there. In 1755, some 70 years after the last dodo's death, the director of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford decided that the instituition's stuffed dodo was becoming musty and ordered it tossed on a bonfire.

This was a suprising decision as it was by this time the only dodo in existence, stuffed or otherwise. A passing employee, aghast, tried to rescue the bird but could save only its head and part of one limb.

As a result of this and other departures from common sense, we are now not entirely sure what a living dodo was like. We have more physical evidence of some ancient sea monsters and lumbering sauropods than we do of a bird that lived into modern times and required nothing of us to survive except our absence.

*****

Christmas

2007-12-23T03:40:00.000+01:00

Nothing much happen these days.

Just some random photos in the city

The long stretch of Arts showcase towards Esplanade by the children from the first Singapore School of Arts!

I had fun spotting the Crocs

Company X'mas dinner at One Degree Fifteen Sentosa Cove

Super love the washrooms. The gals got lost in it.

And some great finds

mahjong for kids. I wanna see some parents buy this!

And the best find of all...

The alarm clock with no alarm. How charming...............

OMG!!!

2007-12-21T02:19:00.000+01:00

i think my health is really deteriorating like shit.

I have a blister near my lips that the doctors said are allergy that wouldnt go off no matter how much medication i take. And yesterday, i was paranoid to death when i found traces of oil in my stool. Traces are actually understating the whole situation. Its more like i have taken a whole dose of lipo-block or something. i hardly take anything oily, always want my fish grilled not fried, substitute all fries with salad, drink everything with lil sugar. Donno where i go wrong.

i need to go visit the doctors again.

2007-12-01T01:55:00.000+01:00

I have finally get myself a new phone. GET. Cause we don have to pay a single cent for it. For it is FREE !!!!!! well, except for the SIM card that cost $27...and thats all we paid. $27, throw in a two years contract with M1 and tadaaaa....there come my new SE K630i. Hahaha....lurve it super lurve it.

I dont even wanna start discussing on what the phone can do. Basically all phones can do about the same thing these days. Camera, recording, bluetooth,coupled up as mp3, all those la. And it is a 3.5G phone. But what the heck is 3.5G??!!!! Hahha...pretty doubtful that i am gonna use that advance feature. Especially when your frens have phones with no Gs. It is also Zap Code ready. That means i can zap special images that appear on papers and get dicounts in selected stores. Something like that la. Though it may not have flash la, and then it may not have zooming feature la, but i am happy enough and everything else do not matter.

With my new phone, i can capture lotsa things and put them i my blog. hahhaha...thats only half the fun of owning a new more modern phone. Secretly take picture of people who behave weirdly in buses and trains. I know that sounds very teruk and you are trying to say i am unethical rite?????? But wait til you see this:

Or you can take pics of people doing this:

Or the long queue of people who wanted the daily FREE newspapers:

Or a healthy meal in a fast food restuarant:

A sinful tiramisu desert after a creamy mushroom soup

Thats the joy of my new phone. I am so HAPPY!

A Dose Of Metropolitan Life

2007-11-22T04:53:00.000+01:00

Singapore is a pretty good place to live in. Everything is so in order, so totally different from what you can find in Malaysia and guess what i strangely love the ordeliness (pardon, bad grammar, correct me)

This is a city with a blend of old cultures added with lots of modernization. High rise buildings, fantastic shopping every corner of the island as well as tonnes of other entertaiments. I supposed this is not a place to get bored unless like say you have been in the place for all your life.

Weirdly, I am not thoroughly enjoying Singapore. This is definitely a better city compared to KL. Just that i have alwasy love a laid back suburban lifestyle.

I hate jostling for MRt every mornings. I hate beig part of the workforce that steadily streams every street corner. I dont hate my work YET. There are definitely still plenty to learn. But in a long run, this definitely not what i am heading at. So you ask why waste the time right? Basically i am waiting for a reply. So this is just like a stepping stone la.

Corporate world is so not for me. its like everyone is programmed to wake up, brush teeth and go to work. How pathetic is that?

I dont wanna simply be a part of this rat race. I believe that i can give more and achieve more. I dont think i am a mere existense. So i am kinda like looking for a way out, to find something more to life, ie: to dedicate more of myself to help others

OMG...i sounded so 'wai tai'. LOL!

November 8th, 2007

2007-11-08T11:03:00.000+01:00

Romans 6:3-4

Or do you know that as many of us were baptized into

Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?

Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death,

that just as Christ was raised from dead by the glory of the Father,

even so we should also walk in newness of life

This marks my day

Reflections

2007-11-03T01:15:00.000+01:00

. . . 10 Days . . .

10 more days and my life in ISM will be a HISTORY

Date: 1st November

Woke up in the morning reminding myself that the count down has started. The new lecturer will be coming in today. Donno what he is gonna be like. Gotta pass everything - my workload over to him. Turned out he is this really BIG, HUGE, MASSIVE man that kinda over shadow me everytime he walked behind me. I don like that. I dont see light in front me. I am such a sicko~

1st of Nov is also the Bio practical exam day. Delibrately set something easier for the students but ended up still having to guide them in some parts. I dont mind helping, but will definitely be alot more happier if they can manage. Thats the joy about being an educator. When they learn and put into practise.

Dont mind those people who need a lil tiny weeny bit of help, i just close one eye, what got me really mad was this girl, after my effort of telling her what she needs to do, she actually have the guts to say that she wanted to submit the paper earlier, with 70% of questions not done, looking at me with that forever pitiful innocent face asking if she can go. Simple calculations like reaction rate, plotting graphs from data already available...she just left that all blank.

I swear you can see smoke fuming from my head. I was mad. And i didnt even try to pretend otherwise. I told her sternly that I do not help people that do not help themselves and then i walked away.

When i think about it at nite, i really couldnt comprehend it.

HOW COME?

How come this person has got no passion at all? How come she have got not even a slight lil effort, at least to just scrapped a pass?

Why does she goes to the church and sing hymns all day long when she didnt even realize that her actions are not what the Lord would have wanted. It is like you said you believe in Jesus Christ and you faithfully follow His teachings but you are just a sloppy irresponsible person in the eye of other people (and it is not only me who complain). What does this reflect about your God?

I hope that she will blossom some day into something beautiful.

But i guess what she needs now is someone who can adress her problem

Angkasawan or Space Passenger?

2007-10-16T08:08:00.000+02:00

Russia offered Malaysia a free trip into space aboard a Soyuz spacecraft three years ago to sweeten the $900-million sale of Russian-made fighter planes.

Nearly 12,000 Malaysians applied for the chance to be an astronaut, and 894 men and women were picked for the first selection round of fitness tests. Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor , as everyone knows is the lucky first Malaysian Angkasawan.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/643907/malaysian_astronaut_to_throw_tea_party_in_space/index.html

Sometimes i do wonder of what we can do with that amount of money

Say helping the poor children in rural areas...

Say Building better schools and provide better education to the needy.....

Say provide better facilities,

health care or assistance to the Orang asli...

Say funding for the Old Folks Home,

Orphanage or the Handicapped.....

The first Malaysian on space is definitely a fabulous and a giant leap...but is it a necessary leap? Dont we have better things to do?

I wonder...

2007-10-08T08:20:00.000+02:00

Extracted from The Star Newspaper (8th October 2007)

Moving hearts

HEART girl Tee Hui Yi's story, and that of the two organ donors, has touched Malaysians. They are now practically lining up to pledge their organs.

It's a "tsunami" of selflessness that has torn down a wall of resistance in the country, says chief national transplant co-ordinator of the National Transplant Resource Centre Dr Lela Yasmin Mansor.

However, there's a need to keep the interest going. And chairman of the Public Education Committee on organ donation Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye has suggested that MyKad be used as an organ donor card as well.

Several people turned up at the National Transplant Resource Centre (NTRC) at Hospital Kuala Lumpur, which is normally closed on Sunday. They made organ donation pledges when they found staff manning the centre.

Forty-three people signed up at the Chukai Central Lions Club Organ Pledge Campaign in Kemaman, Terengganu, on Friday.

Twenty-nine people pledged to be organ donors at the Gerakan National Delegates Conference in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend.

The Islamic Development Department (Jakim) has come out to support organ donations, saying that "to save a life, the difference in religion must not be a barrier"

I have pledge mine

Have you pledge yours???

Another One

2007-10-05T04:32:00.000+02:00

No Kidding

The third milipede

In a day

Right before i get to my seat

Squashed to smittherens right under my left foot

Something is definitely not right somewhere

Be afraid, be very afraid

Another One

2007-10-05T03:21:00.000+02:00

Oh MY GAWD

Barely two hours after squashing the first milipede, i squashed another one.

This one happens in the washroom

I walked into the ladies,

and then i heard that heart wrecking bursting sound again

And i lifted my right leg

AND

Is this a sign??????

But what does it means???

The ghost of milipede, please dont follow me!

The Story Of A Dead Milipede

2007-10-05T01:58:00.000+02:00

This morning i accidentaly squashed a milipede.

Yes, SQUASHED.

I was walking from my seat towards the computer and then suddenly i heard the unmistakable sound of something juicy bursting.

And there it is, right under my right foot, the dead milipede with all its body juices came spilling out.

It was as flat as a roti canai.

I think its abdomen (if it have any) actually burst open.

I felt bad...cause it was a poor innocent milipede that mean me no harm,

but then again i didnt see it there, it was an accident.

So i scooped up the carcass and threw it into the dustbin rite near the water dispenser machine. May the dead milipede rest in peace

and may its descendant fluorish to carry on his gene.

Wedding Dinner

2007-10-03T05:57:00.000+02:00

Last weekend, i was invited to a wedding dinner of a couple that i merely know. You know, the 'hi-bye' kinda people, the people who you will only nod your head or smile as a polite gesture whenever you bumped into each other at public places. I dont even know if we are considered friends since they only know me by the name Sharon and i only know them as the daughter and son-in-law of my landlady. Yes...i dont even know their names!

I never like chinese wedding dinner.

First and foremost:

Chinese Wedding Dinner ALWAYS start late. The invitation card will say 7.00pm sharp bla bla bla, but they are ALWAYS ALWAYS late. I think thats the tradition with the chinese. One auntie even said

'Aiya, mm sai kam kan cheong la...chum pou yan tou hai chi geh'

(no need to be on time, cause everyone else will be late too).

Make me real speechless lor. I bet thats a typical malaysian mind all over the country, cause every wedding dinner that i go seems to always start late. The worst is when you come on time and the food are only served 1 hour later. Really can pengsan on the spot.

Secondly:

Chinese Wedding always serve SHARKFIN soup. Auntie asked why i didnt eat any sharkfin soup. I said thats because i am against shark finning! She gave me that sinister smile (okay okay, i am used of being smiled at that way - cause they think its stupid maybe- but i strictly dont care - i do this all for the good of your grandchildren auntie!!!) and then she gulp down all the soup that i declined having. For 1 person who dont eat sharkfin, there are 500 others who did. The elderly eat them, the youngsters eat them, the children too. We badly need education on biological conservation

Thirdly:

Being seated next to people you dont know. I hate being seated with people that i dont even know existed until that very evening. You look at them and they look at you and you smile smile and you dont know what to say. So you ended up taking your phone out and sending irritating fowarded messages to your friends or started playing games. Thats the normal behaviour la. But once theres a guy who start listening to MP3. I wondered whats wrong with him lor...MP3 over the endless crooning of pop stars wannabe on the stage. Salute!

Fourthly:

Being seated with the hungry ghost. They are the one who grab everything first. They are the one who grab the biggest portion. They are the one who grab the best tasting part of a fish / chicken / etc without consideration. In a nutshell, they already pay the angpow money and they intend to eat as much as the angpow's worth. Its like eating Chipsmore, now you see, now you dont! So MAGIC!

Finally:

The Yam Seng session. Two words to describe it all ... WU LIOA.

Out For A Walk

2007-09-28T01:15:00.000+02:00

Lee Ting and her family brought me out for a walk in the church bazaar some weeks ago. Jessie did gave me a coupon worth RM10, so i thought i can buy my brunch in the bazaar.

But guess what greeted me once i reached the area:

Bird nest, in a small plastic container-selling for RM100!!!! I felt like fainting cause i think last CNY, Ah Hoe sold me the same quantity at RM50 or something. And of course, i have not expected bird nest in bazaar la. I wonder what they do with the excess yin wo. Bet they take back home and eat themselves. They probably own a whole business of yin wo trading

With the limited amount of money i've got, i managed to:

(a) Ate a stick of satay

(b) drink coconut juice - sedap but a bit old. I was digging through the flesh, my hand hurts. To show my generosity, i even offer Lee Ting a sip. Hehe. She looked reluctant rite? Bu she did took a sip ler. very give face

(c) Eat Tawau famous San Dong Wo Tiek - the fillings very little la. Will be good if they are a little more generous with the fillings lor. I look so funny in the pic

(d) watch a performance-Jessie was involved in the production

Later i spent some wondering around the area, see what other stuffs can be found.

(a) There a manicure and pedicure counter. Or the local put it as 'Cuci, Cat Kuku'. I wanna laugh

(b) The Games Castle - play, get coupons and redeem prices. A lot like the indoor games in Genting. I wasnt lured into it, cause i am hopeless with games that need precision

(d) Bumped into Ah Shiew, Furby and Cadee, and they manage to stop for a post -though i doubt furby is actually posing cause she looked like she was caught by suprise

(e) Photographing clowns - cause they are everywhere and they pose automatically when i point my camera at them. So it is just rite to post their pics up too

Everything was fine, happy and great until i saw this:

.
.

SHARKFIN SOUP?????????

This is so unenvironmentally friendly lor. 2 millions sharks are killed a year due to sharkfins demand. All this for a soup that has got no special nutritional value. This prehistoric animal will be caught, their fins sliced off, if they are lucky they might be cut into pieces and be sold in the Pasar-fulfilling the ever increasing demands of fish supply. But unlucky ones are thrown back into the ocean, after their fins were sliced off. And these poor animals, will drown and die! Imagine...a fish being unable to swim in its own habitat to the extent it drowns and die!!! Thats cruel. How many fins you need to make as much soup as that?

I wonder when people will start realizing that

What a 'HAPPY' day!

2007-09-21T08:11:00.000+02:00

TODAY...

I've got spilt by the blue ink. I donno how that happen. It was only a split second before i was drenched in the bluish goo-ish blue marker pen ink. It was on my face, on my arms - like they were oozing blue color blood, dotted on my specs, trailing down the sleeve of my blouse, turning my pink earring to blue, i swear it was a spectacular scene to behold. I think i was frozen on the spot for the longest 1 second of my life before my consious took over and i started yelling.

OH MY GAWWWWDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL!!! Its dead funny, i know its super duper undisputable funny, i really wanna watch me do that again and laugh myself dead looking at my silly antic.

I rushed to the toilet. Turn on the water tap...and theres NO WATER supply. Thats exactly what i need in a situation like this one. What are the odds of getting spilt by ink and having no water to wash up at the same time? I think its the same odd as winning lottery lor. how could that even be possible. I started yelling again cause i cant believe in my good luck!

WHATTTTTTTTT??????? GET ME SOME WATER!!!!!!!

Luckily Daisy found some water in the teacher's toilet, clean water mind you, and i started cleaning myself up. It was so stupid lor. I kept telling emma and jessie to picture the messy me cause i really need to have a good laugh at myself. Poor thing that they didnt have their camera with them. If not i can post the ugly picture here and make you people laugh too. I am not mad la. Just that, why not share something funny, after all it wasnt something to be really ashamed of.It was a workplace accident. It is just......how do i describe that...hmm...just funny. Just funny!

Thank God that the ink is not permanent. That save my pretty face. (Ahem ahem!)

Remembering Mid-Autumn

2007-09-20T05:01:00.000+02:00

Mid Autum Festival - better known as the Mooncake Festival used to be a very happening event when i was little. I remember my phoenix tanglung, Kit's butterfly and Fib's lil rabbit. We have the same tanglung for many many years. Every year after the fest, our tanglungs will be pressed neatly into a box and be stored away awaiting the next year to come.

When the sun sets and the moon rises, we excitedly lighted our faithful tanglungs. Hand-in-hand, we walked around our lil kampung, braving through the nite and the possible encounter with ferocious dogs. But that was not the MAIN agenda. After our ritual 'tour', the tanglungs will be hang on the linen lining and we will get started with our 'Culinary Adventure'.

We scurried through the garden for grasses and leaves, put them into an empty Strepsil-square-metal case, set up fire using candles and start cooking up a storm. All our ingredients will be dumped into the made-do kuali and we will stir them with sticks until yellow liquid oozed out from the plants and then we discarded them. Haha...sounded pretty wu lioa but we actually enjoyed the cooking part the most. We always play cooking at home with our 'masak masak' but cooking with real fire was only permitted during Mooncake Fest lor. We were really enthusiatic, we cant help it.

That is one of my fondest memories from my childhood years. In fact, my childhood was so different from the rest of the people i know, and it sometimes sounded extremely perculiar. My home was a wooden terrace house with two rooms and 10 people living in it! But that will be another story all together.

So many years down the road, my home now consists of merely 4 people. My sisters and I no longer collect grasses and leaves for our lil cook-out session. There is no more imaginary kitchen, no soggy looking yellowish 'dishes'. In fact, we are so far away from each other, everyone persuing their own dreams that meeting up for the occasion is hardly possible.

Still i always believe that, deep in our hearts, we will forever be cooking up a storm. Love,care, patience, persistence and hardwork are the ingredients. Happiness and Joy as the final dishes. This time, we will truly be able to savour the product of out lil culinary adventure.

If you gals are reading this, just wanna say, i love you & you!

bookoholics

2007-09-15T04:36:00.000+02:00

A Self-Confessed Bookoholic Introduce To You:

For One More Day By Mitch Albom

One of the more addictive book that i had had my hand on for a while

This book tells the story of Charley 'Chick', a child of divorce who is always forced to choose between being a daddy's boy or a mommy's boy - never both. He grows into a man and starts a family of his own. But one fateful weekend, he leaves his mother to secretly be with his father and she dies while he is gone. This haunts him for years. It leads him to depression and drunkenness.

One night, he decides to take his life. But somewhere between this world and the next, he encounters his mother again, in their hometown, and gets to spend one last day with her--the day he missed and always wished he'd had. By the end of this magical day, Charley discovers how little he really knew about his mother, the secret of how her love saved their family, and how deeply he wants the second chance to save his own.

Truly an Albom style - love is the greatest influence in one's life!

A Place Called Here By Cecilia Ahern

My latest reading delights!

My first Cecilia Ahern's book was ps, i love you, about a deceased man helping his wife in the her journey of recovery from the devastated death. 10 envelopes with notes that he wrote to her to be opened on the first of every month starting the month after he died. The letters are thoughtful, and range from the exotic to things to help Holly get her life back on track. Each one ends with the novel's title phrase, "PS, I love you". A film adaptation of the book is currently in production staring Oscar winning actress - Hilarry Swank. I cant wait to see the adaptation!

A Place Called Here is my third of Ahern's masterpiece. 'Here', is the name of the place where the lost things will go.

You swear you had that blue chiffon blouse safely tugged into the last cabinet of your creaky, wooden cupboard, but now it is no where to be seen. The blue blouse is lost and lost stuffs will move to a place called "Here'! More interestingly, not only materials and objects, human that got lost also moved into this space called 'Here'.

Will the things from 'Here' ever found their way back home, to the real world? I am only three quater in...i hate the suspense i am putting myself through. I should have finish the book, but i fell asleep. But i will always have today!

Will lost things and people truly go into another dimension?

I am a Feeler!

2007-09-14T10:07:00.000+02:00

I did a test recently and the test revealed that i am FEELER.

A complete FEELER through and through.

Thank God i am not a failure.

Feeler basically refers to someone who lives in a fairyland. Where their life revolves around interacting with people, getting attention from people, giving attention to people and generally being very affectionate about life. Not bad being a feeler that way. Compassionate is indeed a very beautiful gift to have.

Feeler and the exoskeleton of 'Tai Chap Hai'

But the downside of it is that i am a non-thinker! Fare pretty badly as a thinker. It means that i do not enjoy solitary period and most of the time i dont not like to anylyze stuffs critically. Which is indeed very true.

Faced with problems, i get less emotional, that means less of a feeler, and more of a doer. Which means that i will find my way to solve the problems but then i am not a thinker. Meaning i might tend to make hasty decision which might not be the best for me.

Darn...the test consists of 10 pages (approximately) and took me 5-10 minutes to go through.

How can that reveal so much about me?

i swear i wanted to...

2007-09-12T09:41:00.000+02:00

i honestly wanted to blog

But i am lazy.

I am indeed very very lazy

Words just dont flow into my head. I need to recover from my lapse of laziness and back to my usual self, which is only a lil better than my current self. So while i recover from lazy bugs infestation, take a look at this one here. I spend 30 minutes watching these beautiful darlings in the aquarium and i cant help whispering into the glass, calling them babies. Aw...they are my baby indeed!

Btw, this video really do takes an awful lots of time to be uploaded. So allow me to add something here. The video was taken with my Olympus digicam in UWS, where i spend the whole afternoon wondering around, watching crazy picnikers soaking up the sun at 2 in the afternoon and we are talking about a whole lots of UV rays directly penetrated into the skin of those fanatics (do they think its cool? I think its a joke!). Doesnt matter if you apply 10cm thick of sunscreen, the sun was blaring down on those people, imagine how many skin cells will die from the overexposure. I stood underneath the coconut tree shaking my head vigorously like its gonna fall off any minute.

Yea...and i managed to catch the dolphin show at the dolphin lagoon. They need 2 volunteers to go into the pool and interact with the dolphins. I was waving my hand frantically in the air, i swear i looked like a maniac. I wasnt picked. So i ended up watching a Filipino lady 'frolicking' in the water with the gentle mammal. The dolphin got so near her, brushed her feet, splashes water at her face and she get to touch the body of the mammal and i was droolingggggg....okay...thats literally drooling, cause i was so so so wanted to be choosen.

I can feel the magic of the interspecies interaction though no words were spoken and i didnt really experience that personally, i can just feel the MAGIC...it sorta vibrated through the air and i catches that with all the cells in my body and it makes me tingles!

Why was i not choosen???????

Singapore Day #1

2007-09-07T03:52:00.000+02:00

Six days at home in Teluk Intan passes by like so FAST, i dont even have time to eat Che choeng fan and then I have to literally drag my butt off home and travel to singapore by bus. Like an 8 hours journey(trust me, the 8 hours were far more comfortable than 2.5 hprs flying on AirAsia). The bus started at 10.15am and i reach the Lion city like at 7.30pm after all the hassle going through the checkpoint. Sick case that one. Make me lost my temper and shouted at Ah Boo on the phone cause he didnt say anything about filling forms. That coupled with me carrying tonnes of mooncakes that is to be passed to him and his nephew from their moms back home.

Today i woke up in an empty house! Everyone is gone. gone to work thats it. Nice like that cause i can monopolise the place and run around naked. Hahaha...kidding la. This place seems like theres no curtain to shield any naked butt.

Today i have got a mission to accomplish! I am gonna get myself to the nearest MRT statin and then go to this Marina Bay and board a bus to Sentosa and then to the UWS. I dont know what time i should get going. Still contemplating and kinda waiting for my friend to get in touch to meet up. But it might also not happen cause people tend to forget me really. Hahah...that sounded sad but what do i care?!

I am so hungry. I better go find food...and i need a good cup of coffee. I think i saw Coffee Bean...
More updates with pictures later...
Gosh the sun is blinding outside. I am dreading the idea of even stepping out!

Places I Wanna Go

2007-08-28T08:09:00.000+02:00

Peru

Tibet and Mongolia

For the Love of Longan

2007-08-27T04:49:00.000+02:00

I have always love longan. Blame it on the sweeter than sweet flesh as well as the fact that they are not available all year round, only during certain season. I have always love the cousin, Miss Lychee too. But since i found no lychee in supermart, i bought myself some half kg of longans!

Longans or the 'dragon eye' got its name from the resemblance to eyeballs after it is shelled. So why dragon eyes? Why not dogs eye, cats eyes, tiger eyes? Well, you can always count on the chinese to associate everything to the mystical creature.

I ate so much of it...in fact all of it at one go, and got myself so sick in the nite. My body was all heaty. My throat was all the taste of longan that when i drink, i have the longan taste lingering in me. I couldnt sleep the whole nite as i was tossing and turning around. It was so so heaty...i even hafta put a wet towel over my forehead!

Ruwen said Thai longan is so full of formalin. I remember we used to use the formalin to intoxicate lab rats as well as to preserve death animals. My oh my......i was eating doses after doses of formalin subconsiously. This thought can really put me off longan for a long long time!

Getting rid of Scruffy

2007-08-24T01:12:00.000+02:00

A dog followed me while i was jogging yesterday. It was black dog with a tinge of white fur on the tail. Well....the dog looked 'decent' enough, it has got a 'ke-lian'-sloppy eyes, that kinda pleaded you for food if you look into them. I saw the dog even before it saw me, so i thought if i could just keep on walking then thing will go just fine.

Mana tau the dog started tailing me! Scared la me. Cause the dog...lets say we name it 'Scruffy' (cause its hair were all outta place, like it was wrestling with some other dog in pool of mud or something). Scruffy was at my back, i kept stealing glances at it, like curi curi watch boys kinda glances (hehe). Then Scruffy seems to smell my 'takutness', it started walking next to me, as if we were long lost friends.

I wanted so much to get rid of Scruffy cause i was so scared the dog might suddenly think i am no more interesting to follow and hence wanted to chase me off. So i attempted to cross a busy road. I was standing by the roadside and Scruffy was right next to me. I ran across the road when i see no danger and Scruffy ran after me.

I figured if i stopped by the bus stop, and acted like i am waiting for a bus, then Scruffy will get the point and moved on by itself. So i sat at the bus stop right outside school and Scruffy followed suit lor! It sat right next to me with its tounge all hanging out , baring its gleaming white sharp carnivorous teeth. I was like 'OMG!!!'. I read somewhere that one should never meet the eyes of a dog directly, because it means that you are trying to show superiority or something. So i kept stealing glances at Scruffy amd i saw it inching closer and closer.

I decided to run for my life!!! Not really RUN...kinda like fasten my steps. And Scruffy was not giving up. I walked faster, Scruffy broke into a run. I let out a shriek. Scruffy followed me right into the school. Then, maybe Scruffy spotted a butterfly or something, it started leaping around. So i took my chance to run outta Scruffy sight. I was zig-zagging around the pedestrian walk, trying to divert Scruffy's attention. And when Scruffy was so happy leaping about, i hid myself behind cars. So smart!

Thats how i get rid of Scruffy!

Of a Lil Thief and A set Of Lost Keys

2007-08-18T01:02:00.000+02:00

i was devastated yesterday! Everything went just fine until i discovered that i LOST my properties again. I lost all my coins in my piggy bank and some accesories. And i know who is the thief! That lil thief! I already went all the way as to always kept my room locked no matter where i go, even going to the loo for 5 minutes, i always reminded myself to never take chances of having the same thing happened again. And then yesterday...i lost my stuffs again.

That lil liar is the greatest pretender and the most annoying emotional blackmailer- all rolled into you. She has got the guts to run around the house wearing the stolen earring and when i confronted her, she innocently protested and whine in that baby-ish voice and said she never ever took my stuffs. I insisted that she hand over my stuffs or i am gonna go to her parents. And she started whining more, and she kept looking at me with that 'i-am-innocent-pity-me-pls-dont-tell-my-mom' kinda expression.

I was there contemplating for a whole 10 minutes if i shuould forgive her. I hate being a softie.

Good gal Moong Ein : Poor gal, her parents will kill her
Frusfrated Moong Ein : But she stole my money!
Good gal Moong Ein : Pester her to own up and then just keep silent
Frusfrated Moong Ein : But she stole my accesories
Good gal Moong Ein : Well, kids! They bound to do that growing up...
Frusfrated Moong Ein : But she ate my ice cream and took my apples too!
Good gal Moong Ein : What if the parents think you are bull shitting?
Frusfrated Moong Ein : BUT SHE STOLE MY MONEY!!!!! RM 200!!!

Needless to say, frusfrated moong ein won hand down. Frusfrated moong ein, out of frusfration (and clumsiness) accidently broke her bottle of perfume and spent the nite in room being intoxicated by the over pungent smell and hence losing her sleep!

So i went and confronted the parents, in a very nice manner of course.

Nice mannered Moong Ein : Mrs XXX, i need to talk to you
Mrs XXX : yea, is there anything?
Nice mannered Moong Ein : yea, i lost some money and some necklaces and bracelets and stuffs
Mrs XXX : Oh....... (look all blank-the facial espression is speaking 'why are
you telling me?'
Mr XXX : Is there any intruder? Any sign of your windows being broken into?
Nice mannered Moong Ein : hmmm...nope (in my head: which stupid intruder break into a
house for cheap accesories! I have things more valuable la! )
Actually i saw your daughter wearing them
Mrs XXX : But you did locked your room didnt you?
Nice mannered Moong Ein : well, yes actually. And thats what intrigued me
Mr XXX : she probably took the spare keys (SAVIOUR!!!!!) I will talk to
her

So the father runsacked her school bags and all the things that she have ever been stolen were revealed bits by bits. Seems that she didnt steal from me alone! Worst thing was she wouldnt agree of the 'crime' she had commited. She kept insisting that she 'borrowed' the stuffs from and me and she did not have the 'time' to return it to me. Her parents should really discard the home TV set cause i think thats the syndrome of kiddos watching too much drama. They become constant liars with stupid tactics that they learn from the idiot box.

And then she cried and cried more. She stood outside of my room stalking me everytime she saw me, begging me to confirmed her 'story' in front of her parents. She forbade me to go out with Christy and her friends and she insisted i stayed home! Whats the logic in that??? Kids really drive me bonkers sometimes.

This morning while i was walking t school...TA-DAA...i found a set of keys on the road. A set of very old looking keys and theres even a car key (a Ford). I left a message tied on a tree trunk (on the spot where i found the key) for the person who lost them to contact me. I hope that poor soul did saw the message. bless him...

Wow....my life is so full of drama!

Petronas Merdeka Ad

2007-08-15T06:04:00.001+02:00

i think this is thought provoking!

Auld Lang Syne

2007-08-06T08:20:00.000+02:00

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And auld lang syne?

I supposed no acquaintance will ever be forgotten after all the up and downs. As time pass by, i supposed people talk to each other less and they will definitely see each other lesser and lesser too. Meeting up become the annual CNY gatherings. Keeping in touch means a nudge on MSN, a smile on friendster or fowarded sms to remind you that you are not forgotten. Thats the part and parcel of growing up. But deep in the heart, somewhere in the corner of your mind, you have them there and you do think of them every once in while, smiling at the memories that seems so yesterday. Friends are forever they say. I dont know what to make of it. there are definitely peopl i have not been talking to since Form five. In fact i dont even know where some of them are. Keeping in touch, we may not have done that, but the memories and all the life lessons we learned from each other will forever be cherished!

Finally...

2007-08-01T01:53:00.000+02:00

2 days.......

thats how long it took for me to finish 'Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows'

My immediate feeling was a sense of emptiness...like its finally over and there will be no more waiting for the next series and no more secrets to be unraveled. Then i called up Jason(Jason is my lil cousin who is also a self-confessed Potterhead, and he took 3 days to finish his readings) and we had a lil discussion on the story (yea...sounded mad aint it?).

How do i like it then?

Oh.....basically i love it. Self confessed Potterhead i am. But i cant help wondering why the final epilogue? Is it necessary? Or is it just a piece of fan fiction? Cause it makes the book sounds lame. I know people will definitely wanna see an happy-heart-warming-i-love-you-you-love-me kinda ending, but still the epilogue is kinda crap....say me Potterhead.

Its action all the way from the first page till the very end. More secrets being disclosed. More mysteries to be solved. More Death Eaters to be conquered. Hogwarts sounds like Holocaust (you donno Holocaust? Pls wiki.Go read Secret Diary of Anne Frank-one of the must-read on my list). And of course more brave souls sacrifice their life defending their beliefs. Some parts are seriously heart warming, some parts makes me chuckles.Lotsa thinking, lotsa reconnecting to the past events, lotsa understanding to be made. Lotsa imagining. Still...like i said, i love the book...but then again...the epilogue...DUH!

I wanna go re-read the book. 'Accio HP'

p/s: Gazzilion of thanx to the kindred spirit who so willingly allow me to read the brand new book first hand!

Of BBQ and Old Folks

2007-07-31T05:04:00.001+02:00

Last friday nite, Christy invited me over for a BBQ session with the people from her church. It was rather windy and theres even sign of rain coming our way. And it was definitely not a good sign as we were supposed to be BBQ-ing at the Yatch Club - open air, facing the sea. Winds were blowing strong and i thought i could smell rain in the air. I was freaking cold too, never thought that wind could be blowing this strong and i was there in short pants. Pretty obvious eh? I dont think people go BBQ-ing in jeans.

I didnt eat much cause i have actually eaten something before that. And the fact that i am allergic to most shellfishes and seafood make all the prawns and sotongs (yeah...i dont eat sotongs anymore, i dont think i am allergic to it...cause it got no shells, but then for precaution...and yeah..sotong laden with cholesterols, so good to avoid). But my fave will still be the 'fan shu'. I just love eating 'fan shu' cause it feels so nostalgic. And KK actually said 'fan shu' is good for skin and complexion. Thats the first time people telling me that. I thought 'fan shu' are all starch and starch basically equals to fats in Biology. Still, i enjoy eating 'fan shu'

So the wind just kept blowing and blowing but thanx God that it doesnt rain. Theres a times when you can feel a tiny drop of rain and then...ta-daa, the rain never did came. So it was an interesting outing all together. To get out of the house and do something different for a change.

On Sunday, Shir Ping brought me to the local Old Folks Home with her. I have never ever been to an OFH. Not even when i was with the Girl Guide or the Red Cresent Society cause mom kinda forbidden us to go. She said old people bites! LOL...so that was a stupid joke. Mom always said that the OFH kinda make all the sadness crept into you cause having to see those ah mahs and ah kongs being abandon and mind you most of them not in a very good shape. Bet the same theory applies when mom forbade us to have a last look of dad on the day when he was cremated. Cause mom will want us to have a perfect memory of dad and we do. And that was like eons ago.

I do not know what to feel for these elderly in the OFH except for the usual so ke-lian. Cause i know for sure that i cant do much for them. But i supposed the best realization that come to mind is the fact that you must treasure everyone at home. Reminded me of the conversation i had with Kit some time back. Kit were suggesting that i move back to KL and we could all stay together (me, Kit and Fibs) and then we could bring mom over. Mom is home all alone now since Fibs moved to KL. And she was right, mom wasnt exactly young either. She is almost 50. Come to think of it, it seems like yesterday when mom was 30+ and dad was still around. How years fly...and how people come and go out of your life...

The Obelisk

2007-07-26T07:19:00.000+02:00

Got some money to spare? Check out The Obelisk!

The Obelisk - looks to me like a giant potato - is a state of art outdoor furniture made for the people who wanna enjoy the mother nature in style.

Its like your Lego set at home where you can scramble and unscramble it at will and hence bringing the Obelisk anywhere you like (see how smart people have become!). Say you go to the mamak and start disassemble your Obelisk cause you wanna try 'sipping' your teh tarik on a plush cushioned seat instead of the usual kerusi plastic. Or say you have a rather small house then you should really get one Obelisk, saving space and stuffs. The Obelisk is retailing 9,900USD. Easily ten years worth of wages for the people living below poverty line in many asian countries. The rich are definitely getting richer these days!

Anson On The Star

2007-07-24T04:57:00.000+02:00

Ran into a review of my very beloved hometown Anson AKA Teluk Intan AKA Diamond Bay in The Star last Sunday. Make me wanna rip the page off the library's newspaper and stick it on the wall by my bedside.

Visit:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/7/22/sundaymetro/18221257&sec=sundaymetro

Everyday i love you - Boyzone (my all time fave)

Potter Books Flying Off The Racks!

2007-07-23T06:58:00.000+02:00

I bought my Potter book for RM 99.90 after a RM10 discount from MPH with free delivery right to my doorstep!

Who could have thought of Hypermarts, such as Carrefour and Tesco will be selling at an incredibly low price of RM 69.90! I am not all sakit hati that i have bought the book slightly more expensive than the incredibulous offer now. At the first thought, i really do feel that the people at these hypermarts are going NUTS! RM 69.90!!! I bet they dont care much about the profit margin if they can beat the rest with sales volume.

Kinokuniya, KLCC

Tesco, Mutiara Damansara (on metal racks,like so duh!

Look some more come with the paper bag. Not bad ler!)

So it was in the paper everywhere about this massive price slash of the brand new HP book. As quoted from the Star, Malaysia Bookseller Association president Cheah Thye Wee said the association was shocked and disappointed with the price under-cutting of the novel by the two operators. I supposed they will be calling up a meeting or so to discuss on the problem since some major bookstores (MPH, Popular, Times and Harris) who protested the move are currently not selling their HP stocks.

Harris, Aeon Tebrau

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,'' the seventh and final volume of J.K. Rowling's all-conquering fantasy series, sold a mountainous 8.3 million copies in its first 24 hours on sale in the United States, according to Scholastic Inc. The book's British publisher, Bloomsbury, expects to announce sales figures Monday.

Earlier Sunday, Borders Group Inc. reported that the book sold 1.2 million copies worldwide in its first day, the biggest single-day number ever for the superstore chain. According to Borders, the previous Potter, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,'' sold 850,000 copies on its first day of release in 2005.

Btw, the 7th book is retailing for 35USD in the United States. Maybe Malaysian can consider 'borong-ing' from the hypermarts and sell online! Fantastic eh?

Pottermania is definitely here to stay!

toothy's musing

2007-07-21T01:58:00.000+02:00

i was walking to the grocery the other day when it started to pour like cats and dogs. I was not only drench physically (which i hardly mind)but mentally. I kept asking myself why do i choose to be here? A place that i have no families, no friends. A place where my time will have to be fix around other people's schedule. A place where i work thru the day and sleep thru the nite only to wake up the next day repeating the same ordeal. And the fact that i was all wet under the rain, desperately fastening my steps towards a house that i couldnt call home makes everything seems even more pathetic.

I asked myself, times and again
"how do i get myself into this?"
"How can i ever plunge into a non-existence life?"

Laying in my bed last nite, listening to the rain splaterring on the window, i suddenly realized that this was my choice. The decision i have made after weighing the pros and cons. So how could i ever resent myself for that? It suddenly hit me that ot doesnt matter not having people to hang out with, it is okay that i cant seems to relate to other people conversation, and it is definitely okay to be mundane. This is after all just another phase of life and a path leading to growth, a path leading to self understanding, a path that i am responsible of.

Each time something difficult and challenging

has happened to me it has marked the beginning

of a new era in my life
Kimberly Kirberger

Suddenly i feel so much more better with myself. What Ah Boo said is right. Negative thoughts will only push me further into the blackhole of misery. I smile at the rise of the sun this morning and i thank God for the enlightenment!

P/S: I checked with MPH this morning and they said all pre-order books have already been delivered. OMG! I can imagine my brand new HP book sitting on my desk shouting 'READ ME'...thats a happy thought

Harry Potter International Trailer

2007-07-18T09:26:00.000+02:00

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HP5 - the trailer, have not watch this yet. the cinema have been very saturated with good movies lately. Wanna watch the movie with Fiona Sit and Gigi Leung in it, very interested in the other one with Karena Lam and Rene Liu. Long time that i didnt ran a movie marathon. Miss those days!

I-am-not-a-plastic-bag mania

2007-07-18T02:04:00.000+02:00

'I-am-not-a-plastic-bag' - the must-have item of the moment!

Even Kiera Knigthley is carrying one.

It really doesnt bother me when the news said that the canvas tote were all sold out a few hours after its released in both Anya Hindmarch outlets in 1 utama and KLCC. A designer item going for as low as RM55!!! I call that a real bargain! It wasnt until i saw a friend of mine posing with the bag that i decided to check out on the item.

This tote was created by Anya Hindmarch (Wiki her if you dont know who she is) for Sainsbury's. Made of cotton and canvas in the Republic of China (yes, its China!) , like Anya said put it, reputable factories with good practises in China (check out http://www.anyahindmarch.com/).

The bag is an effort from the collaboration of the eco-frenly activists in Britain and Anya Hindmarch to create an awareness among its people to start saying no to plastic bags. According to Time (which i chance upon recently), every year more than 500 billion plastic bags are distributed and less than 3% of those bags are recycled. These bags will take up to 1000 years to biodegrade and they emit harmful greenhouse gases. Obviously, everyone should really start to give a thought on all those plastic bags that they bring home everyday either from the grocery or the hypermarket.

The 'I-am-not-a-plastic-bag' tote is basically a very noble thing to do. The bag is selling at 5 pounds in the UK, 15 dollars in America, and a mere RM55 in malaysia. That makes it pretty affordable and everyone will be able to own it and hence spread the ' love-your-environment-say-no-to-plastic' message around.

What trouble me is the fact that how many of these people actually appreciate the message behind the tote? I cant help wondering that most people are only buying them because they are the 'must-have accessory' at the moment and they are dirt cheap for a designer item. An Anya Hindmarch handbag can come up to 250 pounds even after 40% discount!

Is it just a fad or will it really help to save the environment? There is nothing wrong with selling bags, in fact i already said thats a very noble thing to do. Guess it very much depends on the buyer to truly and fully appreciate the reason for their purchase.

Btw, while i am writing this, the bags are all sold out throughout the United States and opportunist are selling them on Ebay America for 400USD. And on the other side of the Earth, people are flocking to Anya's outlet as early as 3am in the morning in a desperate attempt to grab hold of the item. They are sold out in merely 3 hours.

2007-07-11T05:32:00.000+02:00

Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix is out on cinema today!!!

Somepeople just dont understand and they thought that HP is basically a kiddo thing. Nah!!! Thats super duper maliciously wrong idea. It was initially published as a storybook for children and then it caught up with the adult readers and now you get the HP books with both children and adult version.

I have been waiting and waiting for the movie but not as much as the anticipation for the new and the last HP book - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Two major characters will be killed off in the last book. Dumbledore and Sirius are both killed off. I will expect one of the casualty will be Voldemort and another one...who knows! I suspect it could be either:

(a) Harry himself - to create the -ho-hum' effect. After all the prophecy did say that neither one will survive

(b) Severus Snape - dying a heroic death trying to protect Harry (if he is really the good guy) or Draco Malfoy (due to the unbreakable vow)

There are so many questons left to be answer in this book. Who the heck is R.A.B? My guess will be Regulus Black (Sirius's brother). Where are the rest of the hocruxes where Voldemort kept part of his split soul? Will Ron be probably seeing Hermione? Will Viktor Krum reappeared? Will Bill Weasley actually became a werewolf?

After this very last book there will be no more HP books to anticipate for though i know that i will always be reading and re-reading my HP books. For my own record, i have actually been through the series for like at least 5 times each. And my fave is still HP and the Goblet of Fire. Book7 might change that though.

The cast of HP - The Order Of The Phoenix

Sometimes i wonder will this be the last we see of JK Rowling? Maybe someday she should come out with a book detailing the journey of Tom Marvolo Riddle and how he became the all-famous Lord Voldermort. According to book6, after his stint in Borgin and Burkes, he sorta momentarily disappeared from the wizarding world. It will be fun to learn on what actually happened to him during those time as well as the young Riddle living in the orphanage.

Btw, i will not be able to read the last HP book till i got back home in August. MPH will be sending my pre-order copy to my home. So i forbid anyone from telling me about the ending cause that will be so anti-climax.

tOothYfaiRy_LaNd

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Cream cheese recipe

Kitty gears

Fishy Post

Chocolate Muffin-cake

Oh dear!!!

the first entry of 2011

Sometimes

The Thing About Being Away From Home

Muffins?

Breakfast Row

Of Lamentations

On A Day Like This

pAris - Day One

The Meme (That Gets on Everyone's Nerves)!!!

Last Week Happenings

The Weekend Getaway

A Fast Update!

Look Who's Talking

Chapter W - An Update

Lagunas de Ruidera

The Careme and Jarandilla

Dear Blog

A Saturday Road Trip

The Wish List

Spring Has Landed

My Sister's Keeper

Vain.Pot

Pieces Of Thoughts

The Making of Yummy-ness

That Thing With Robbers

A 5 days Stint - A Chronology

That Solstice of 1999

Mission ABC Soup

f.o.u.n.d

Am Back *wink wink wink*

Finally

First week of September

Random

Dreaming in a Dream

7th June 2008

Because i love it

My Very First Attempt

My Tokyo Chicken Stew Blergh!

Moving into the new room

Proud Malaysian Rambles On...........

Guilty nia...

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Christmas

OMG!!!

A Dose Of Metropolitan Life

November 8th, 2007

Reflections

Angkasawan or Space Passenger?

Another One

Another One

The Story Of A Dead Milipede

Wedding Dinner

Out For A Walk

What a 'HAPPY' day!

Remembering Mid-Autumn

bookoholics

I am a Feeler!

i swear i wanted to...

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Places I Wanna Go

For the Love of Longan

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Of a Lil Thief and A set Of Lost Keys

Petronas Merdeka Ad

Auld Lang Syne

Finally...

Of BBQ and Old Folks

The Obelisk

Anson On The Star

Potter Books Flying Off The Racks!

toothy's musing

Harry Potter International Trailer

Am Back wink wink wink