non-holiday trivia

the time of the year when i would normally be joining in the Christmas festivities by revamping my blogskin is dampened by the fact that it is December and i still have exams coming. bummer. well, the good thing about this is, the current skin was done between after last christmas and before new year's so still quite relevant..in fact, it's even more relevant now than it was for the entire year! oh wow. *bimbotic gasp*

and with no relevance at all to the above save for the fact that we are still talking about Christmas, here's a little trivia. the pretty decorations and themes that malls and stores put up is not just for our eyes to feast on but also to add to the buying mood.
like, how many times toward the end of November have you happily and innocently walked into a mall only to be asaulted by *gasp!* Christmas decorations already! then you start thinking bout gifts that're yet to be bought and suddenly things you normally don't look at might be 'a good gift for so-and-so'.

well, the first part might be applicable to you if you're blur like me and the second part will happen if you're not like me. i tend to pick out gifts for people on the basis of when i see something that makes me think of them (usually) so, depending on that person's "luck" he or she will receive their gift uber early or uber late.

okay, random trivia over. time to rebury myself then.

the failness of it all.

Couldn't sleep and decided to play some music on my handphone to fall asleep to.

Then I realised I wanted to listen to more stuff that wasn't in my phone. So I turned on my lappietop especially to put the songs in.

While my lappie was on and my phone connected to it, I thought might as well try to convert that video I loved to mp4 format so I can watch it on my phone as well.

Didn't manage to do that but it's already two hours later and I'm finally sleepy enough to not need those songs I put in after all. I guess. Oh well.

"IT'S OVER"

rang the cries all over the emptying hall as we said our last thankyougoodbyes.



I saw tears of joy and relief (i think). As for myself, I shouted along with the rest of them and did the most relieving thing of all...



I REMOVED MY HEELS



Ahhhhhh~ Flat ground at last. Oh the strain on my knees, the fake smile I had to wear the moment the event started, the pinch on my toes. Ah the bliss of the moment is everything to be contrasted against the agony of standing stiff and straight while talks with too long wind in their sails is being given.

Other than that, I believe we managed to entertain the crowd pretty well. Between glitches, of course. :) To those of you who left before things picked up, 'hah! your loss!' :)

But then, I don't entirely blame them. You see, this is the first time I find myself going on a cycle of feeling grateful and then resentful and the guilty because I still feel grateful at the same time. Very confusing, right? Or actually, in the words of Eileen, nabeh.

Put simply, I am grateful because all glitches aside, we put on an enjoyable show and most of the audience liked it even if the one that mattered (to our marks at least. heh) might not have been as impressed. The glitches...well, they're another matter.

It suffices to say, I was hoping for manpower not mannequinpower la, yah? I mean, stand around, pose and look pretty, I also know la. In fact, while you all posing hor, might as well camwhore at the same time, yah? At least I'll know you used the time for something usefull mah. Cis!

Trading guilt for sympathy with tears.

Tears are a woman's right, so it's said. Rightly so for being the somewhat-weaker sex and bearing much of the emotional burden, it's alright for them to cry.

Crying just to erase all responsibility or act the wounded party and shift the blame on the social stage, however is an underhanded tactic and truely gutless. Unfortunately, the ultimate clincher is this, the ones who do it will have friends as much as one would wonder why and how they got friends at all, they do.

The mark of a good friend is to listen, and be sympathetic. The downside is, this also blinds them to the fact that said friend is not quite as blameless as she made herself out to be. She may be pitiable but for a totally different reason - the simple inability to be anything useful.

Having summarised my thoughts on the issue, I'll then say I'm not naming names because it didn't involve me, is not my problem per-se and I should only be an silent bystander.

Save for the fact that today has been a cumulative of small annoyances, I may not even be posting about this indignity of an excuse for a female.

Because Deepavali is...

an under-rated celebration. 

At least in cities where I hardly feel the atmosphere of a celebration of light overcoming darkness. Where's all the music and fanfare?! But then I suppose the same could be said of Chinese New Year (where's all the fire crackers?!) and I say this only because on the occassions I've been blessed enough to be invited to Deepavali-celebrating homes, I observed that there would be a constant in the form of a Tamil or Hindi movie playing in the background while everyone is really too busy socialising and/or catching up. Kinda reminded me of CNY and the traditional old Stephen Chow or Kung Fu movies. Same concept. Heh heh. 

Then, it's hardly talked about because it only gets one day holiday! How can?! Only one day off to celebrate all the delicious food-ekhem. 

a delicious celebration.

As somewhat mentioned earlier, Deepavali serves up some of the best food of all celebrations in my personal opinion. (All you people who wish to beg to differ may now start sending me invites to come to your open houses) After a dry few years of non-eventful Deepavalis, I got sub-invited to not one but two open houses courtesy of bi's family. (In other words, I'm a shameless tagalong. nyeheheh) And boy were the hosts gracious with their food.. *_* Ahh..the spices, the bursts of flavour. I like~

an artful celebration. 

Does one know how much work and precision it takes to make a kolam, that colorful rice art done in most shopping malls every Deepavali season? Plus all the decorations and lit lamps. 

All in all, I'm glad I didn't miss out on this year's festivities (yes, and food.) it is indeed something special to be celebrating another cultural celebration, surrounded by open-minded people so willing to share home and culture, at least for awhile. :)

innocence fades.

"Forget what we're told, before we get too old" - Chasing Cars, Snow Patrol

So much of growing up is taken to mean gaining more knowlegde,wisdom, intellect. Collecting memories, bits of 'advice' from here and there just to build up who we are and how we think or reason things. Sometimes, there are things not meant to be taken so literally. Taken with a pinch of salt, so to speak, in the words of wise older people. Heh.

For most, growing up means to forget how to laugh at simply anything. Not just at your friends as the dog-eat-dog world teaches you how but with them as well. Means to an end or an end in itself? Ethical questions I will be taught to ponder in my next semester. A question I believe should be imbued from before but isn't. So now I'm questioning the manner we're made? No, it simply is. We are all given choices.

There's a verse in the Bible. It quotes
"See, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as cunning as serpents and as innocent as doves." Matthew 1-:16
It was one of the verses that baffled me most. Still does. I know not how to keep that innocence and walk the tightrope of morality and survival.
Survival even within siblings even in a home where there are indeed no favourites, no special apples. Hard to see, hard for some to feel that way but it's true. Judgement is not by man, yet time over will he do it. It's not hard to judge when one is not on the receiving end. No surprises there.

When children play, seldom do they divide by color or even speech. It comes later, with mimicry and observation. This suddenly brings to mind a typical child's game where a set of similiar looking objects are placed on a page and the child is told to spot different one.

It's fun to point out differences because it reaffirms the belief that you're not the odd one out. It helps assure the ones you talk to that you're in. Maybe. I don't know.

'Children laugh more than 300 times a day while adults only less than 20 times a day.' So it's said.

Thinking in intricate swirls this close to bedtime and typing it out?
I must need sleep. :)

Oh, before that, HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY, CHELLE-CHAN!!! Miss you loads and wish you could be here (or we could be there) to celebrate this day for you!

juju memed me!

my blog must be as stale as the mushrooms i last posted about if one has to tag me to get me to revive it. fine, fine...

1. The last person to tag you is? Juju~

2. Your relationship with him/her? Creator of the dear yoghurtpot I love to bug.

3. Your impression towards him/her? She's hyper but sadistic. An occassional ditzy deep thinker. ^^;

4. The most memorable thing that he/she has ever done for you? Made me the cutest smiley pau hairband that won me 'Best Decorated' at Jungle Night. Heh.

5. The most memorable words that he/she spoke to you? "I am NOT a yoghurtpot!" Though, technically it wasn't her saying it but tis amusing anyway.. ^^

6. If he/she becomes your lover, you will... have to duke it out with Bunnie. Eep!

7. If he/she becomes your enemy, you will.. not be able to bug her anymore? :(

8. If he/she becomes your lover, he/she has to improve on... sharing her feelings more. cause i'll wanna know then i can poke it all better. :p

9. If he/she becomes your enemy, the reason is... Yoghurtpot made her do it. xP

10. The most desirable things to do for him/her is... glomp her. often.

11. Overall impression towards him/her is... one of the coolest PKs to hang out with.

12. How do you think the people around you will feel about you? someone bearable to be around. yes.

13. The character for you for yourself is? my occasional patience..(?)

14. On contrary, the character you hate of yourself is? my occassional patience. :)

15. The most ideal person you want to be is? myself. for i know no other way to be. ohohoho~

16. For the person who cares for and likes you, say something about him/her. They know what's worth loving. :P

17. Ten people to tag. -Sorry, I'm bad at tag stuff..so this is the end of the line.

This should hold for another month or so. Heh.

How get rid of dried mushrooms in your fridge.

First, check if you have leftover rice. Preferably yesterday's so at least something in your about-to-be concoction is reasonably fresh.

Next, prepare universal 'gelling' ingredient, eggs. Depending on the portion of rice you wish to serve (or portion that is left), you may put in one egg or more according to your disgression or liking for eggs. :)

Ensure that there is chicken essence flavouring on hand for, well what else, flavouring. Warning, minus this ingredient means minus any tasty flavour at all in the end result.

For a healthy and filling meal but with a rather unusual taste, also prepare mock duck. Separate the "duck" from the sauce it comes with in the tin.

If you are still at this point unaware, the dish to be prepared is fried rice. Thus, oil and chopped garlic are key ingredients. A wok and frying apparatus would of course be helpful as well.

Having secured all ingredients, heat up the wok and add oil. (I've just realised this also means 'jia you' which means 'go for it' in Mandarin. very encouraging.) Let it simmer then throw in chopped garlic. After frying till golden brown, throw in egg(s) and fry as usual before tossing in the mushrooms (soaked in water and shredded) that you were trying to get rid of in the first place. Continue frying till mix is approporiately dry then shake some chicken flavouring powder into the mock duck sauce and pour into wok. Pour in leftover rice and mock duck and fry. Also add more chicken flavouring powder at some point and be sure not to let your hand slip lest too much powder is shaken in. Fry till rice is light brown and stop before cocoction is too dry.

This meal is suitable for those who are not strictly vegetarians but vegetarians nonetheless. :)

p/s - should this recipe not turn out for you, a helping of chili or tomato sauce will also be handy.

-end impromptu recipe-

this is what happened when bi and me were wondering what to do with the rest of the mushrooms we bought last week and forgot about. fried rice is a good way to go about making useful almost all leftovers so that's what we decided upon. it actually made a pretty good lunch!

deciding upon ingredients done by me (except for the mock duck :p), actual cooking and frying done by bi. i just stood by to 'add oil', chop garlic and shred the mushrooms for him. hehe.
i think i make a great kitchen hand now.. :D thanks, bi! ^^

tagged by the Budderfly

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

3. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they got tagged and to ask them to play and read your blog.

Starting time: 1.51 p.m

Name: Vic

Sisters: None

Brothers: 1

Shoe Size: Somewhere between 5 to 7. If it fits, it fits. ;)

Height: 5'5 ish. not too sure.

Where do you live: land of food and duit kopi Malaysia.

Favourite drinks: Cocktails.

Favourite breakfast: At the moment, Hakka mee. ^^

Have you ever

Been on a plane?: Yup.

Swam in the ocean: Yes, huge salty swimming pool. :)

Fallen asleep at school: You mean the 'snooze' option isn't applicable in school?

Broken someone's heart: That someone's gotta tell me if i did.

Fell off your chair: Eheh..not that i remember but i did fall off my doubledecker bed once. Onto the office chair below no less. There's my little gymnast stunt.

Sat by the phone all night waiting for someone to call: No, if i were to wait for a call, the phone would wake me anyway.

What is your room like: Floor's relatively clear. Can't say the same for any of the other raised 'spaces' though.

What's right beside you: Pillows. ^^

What is the last thing you ate: Terribly made "fried ice cream" from an overpriced mamak near my uni. Ice cream sludge oozed out when i cut the fried shell open. That's not supposed to happen. But well, this mamak has proven lousy the two times i dained to dine there due to friends' whims anyway. Check out the nasi lemak basi i almost ate the last time.

Ever had

Chicken pox: Yeah, the only thing i remember about it is Calamine lotion.

Sore throat: Ugh. Croakalicious wei.

Stitches: Ya, according to my dad i was the 'bride of Frankenstein' for as long as the stitches stayed. lol.

Broken nose: Thank God, no.

Do you believe in love at first sight: Like i believe in Santa Claus. Sure would be nice, but nah.

Like picnics: Yay! Cake! and with cake comes ants and grass and...

Who was, were the last person you:

Danced with: Bearbear? in our uni corridor. haha.

Last made you smile: My bi. Cause he pouted. nyahaha.

You last yelled at: Mami and her crude joke.

Today did you:

Talk to someone you like: Lots of someones I like.

Kissed anyone: Every morning. :)

Get sick: Thank God, no.

Talk to an ex: Nope.

Miss someone: Yeah a few, even some who might not even remember me anymore.

Eat: Today i ate horribly made ice cream...eh, deja vu la.

Best feeling in the world:

Do you sleep with stuffed animals: They be my bed decorations.

What's under your bed: I told you the floor was clear.

Who do you really hate: hate is a strong word. perhaps it should be reserved for the moment.

What time is it now?: 2.27pm

chocolate rêve

-update-

told bi about my dream. he tempted too. now i has chocolate! teehee!

-endupdate-

I don't know if it's my recent passionate abandon for 'Pastry Passion' or the heat with it's oven bake-like qualities that bring you back to days when mother set the oven to heat while she mixed the dough and the kitchen would be this sticky stifling oven itself but you'd go in anyway just to see if you were lucky enough to get some of the mix before she popped it in the oven, or a combination of both.

Mayhaps even neither and tis only a withdrawal symptom but I believe something's up when chocolate invades even my dreams(!).

Having been tireder than I thought through the past week, I came home after Saturday morning class with the very enthusiastically cheerful Mr. V and proceeded to crash.

Best sleep I've had in a month and the eclaire of it all is, I had a chocolate filled dream. But even in my dreams I'm generous for chocolate is a bliss to be shared after all~ :)

In one scene I remember, bi was feeding me some of the Cadbury Marble he bought earlier. Ah bliss...I think this is the bit where he walked in and saw me sleeping with a smile on my face.

The next scene I remember is walking in on Carmen's mom enjoying her own stashed bar of chocolate and I told bi (in my dream) about it and we were laughing over it. ^^;

Well, it's not so funny now I'm up and the weather's still warm...I crave C.H.O.C.O.L.A.T.E!!!! T_T

woops.

was supposed to put up a post with some pictures taken at Urbanscapes (which was cool, btw!) with my meagre cameraphone amidst all the snazzy DSLRs but I guess I got lazy and never really bothered uploading.

Now I'm at Starbucks once more and having just read Pauline's latest post which took a jibe at three very dusty blogs, I felt a small twinge of guilt and proceeded here.

True to my Starbucks blogging tradition though, I MUST blog and so I shall.

I'm really supposed to do my final year project.

Well, a proposal for it anyway.

It's two pages long.

I hath no topic.

Raaaaaaaaaaaaaarrr!

That doesn't really qualify as a post, does it? Okay. Let's recount a certain 'woops' that happened yesterday...

My car battery died on me. Here's the thing, our classes started at 3pm yesterday but me and Carmen booked a 'date' with DaddyBryan to go eat spicy pan mee in KL so we went a lil earlier. Earlier meaning 10.30am when the sun is up and shining and switching on my headlights would be utter folly. So, no, I did not leave my headlights on.
We made it to uni, no problems. Now, leaving was the glitch. My car just wouldn't friggin start and we (Carmen and me) were tired and just wanted to brave whatever jam there was and get home. So after an SOS to Uncle Yeow Yeow, we just sat and waited. Thanks a lot to those bozos in two cars who honked and made very flattering noises in our drection when they saw our car bonnet up. I assume that aside from making said noises, none of you are capable of doing manlier things like lifting the car battery. Aide came in the much better form of a guy who stopped to ask if we needed help and even jumpstarted my battery for me. (Only, I felt bad about not being able to communicate well enough with him through my pathetic scraps of mandarin. meh.)
More calvary came when Yeow arrived and he tailed me to the mainroad to make sure things were alright.
Well, we made most of the way home alright. And then at a traffic light which was red, it died again. Just like that, right in the middle of the road. (that road is cursed to me on Fridays. I DON'T KNOW WHY) Oh the honking, dirty looks and glares I'm happily oblivious to. heh. And amidst the mess, God sent more angels. A bunch of boys probably going home after evening sports hung around when they saw the whole thing and even helped me push the car to the side of the road. phew! Crisis one lessened.
I must say one thing about the compassion of our famed AAM which promises to get you out of a scrap and with a smile too. Well, I called them as mom instructed, a nice lady picked up and asked for my car number and after some rustling, I was told my policy had expired and could I please ask my mom to fax over our policy before they dispatch aide. All this after I told her I was a sitting duck in my dead car smack in the middle of traffic. That is what I call cold blooded money making but let's let it go, shall we since I received quite more than enough unedserved aide in other forms. :) All through my conversation, Carmen called bi to tell him I was stuck.
He and his dad came after my car was pushed safely to the side and rejumpstarted it.
My car ran 'heartless' after that since my battery was truly and non-functionally gone. Bi drove and taught me how to drive properly if I were to be in that same situation again. (I sure hope not. >_<) And before that, while me and Carmen were playing damsels in distress standing on the divider in the middle of the road, bi's mom saw us and offered a ride home.

Yes, God, I'm thankful and listening now.

"Everybody is kungfu fighting~!"

And with a great 'doing!' Po, the big fat panda bounced me into belief that this is the rewatchable of all rewatchables.

No wonder so many people offered to rewatch it. Not to mention the ammount of exclamation marks I could just sense hovering over the heads of everyone who heard I hadn't seen it (!!!) followed by "It's SO funny!! You should watch!!!!!!!" It's almost like Transformers deja vu except this time, my expectations were more than met. :)

Without giving away too much, and not repeating what one may read from movie review sites and from the movie synopsis, it suffices to say that 3 very giggly people walked out from an almost empty cinema yesterday quoting all manner of memorable quotes from the movie then bursting out into simultaneous laughter. Or, i suppose our condition could've been described as 'Lol-ing'. Carmen, Vic and Kelv were lol-ing their way out of the cinema uncaring of weird stares and whatnot.

Many laugh out loud moments in a movie that didn't come off as preachy, too typically 'good guy vs bad guy' disney/hollywood-ish and yet pulls off the feel good factor with style. Plus, it says a lot for a movie to still be able to make me laugh even after quite a few of the funny quotes were described to me by other tickled friends who watched it earlier. Truly magnifique~

Yesterday was also Cerly's birthday. And as promised in a vague post quite awhile ago, here's what that juicy red thing on white fluff was!

There it is, that thingy on Ditzy Sensei's head! Yeah, she was so embarrased that we had to resort to camwhoring in the church washroom. -_-"

Happy belated birthday, Cerly~! *hugs*

And in a month of birthdays which of course would drive any middle-class person (much less a student) broke, it has to be the month of my lahling's birthday as well. ^^; More updates and pictures on that later!

Big equipment glint

-update-
ordered a 'passion' flavoured cup of Grande tea that sits steaming on my table, emitting this gorgeously sweet aroma I now love. *heart*
-end-


I guess as inevitably as i blog in my friendster outlet whenever I'm at uni, it will become just as inevitable for me to blog whenever I'm at Starbucks. Good news, really, as bucks's international status is finally of a service to me. Starbucks is available pretty much everywhere (I guess) thus, should I wander far from home, I'll locate the nearest Starbucks, reminiscence and blog. :)

No jazzy live music to listen to today though. It's pouring and the floor outside's flooded somewhat. They even had to clear away the floating 'welcome mat'.

Before this downpour, however, we (Leen, TehAisLiMei, Szetoo & I) managed to do some catching up at A&Ws not to mention some gadget showdown (or "showoff"...hehe) by Szetoo who just got a new DSLR(!). Fantastic piece of equipment, that. And to show how jakun the rest of us were, I quote mum, "I touched a DSLR today!" Owner was even generous enough to allow us to womanhandle her new toy with our greasy, greedy fingers. (Thanks, Szetoo!) No pics to show though, not that there were any with even an inkling of calibre la but just to show what SLR noobs do when given the opportunity.... sigh.

So many photo-outings that are just ideas in our heads. Must do some serious planning to get at least one into fruition. Such a waste if we don't go on at least one KL shoot-outting. SO many gorgeous elements just waiting to be spotted, kan? Personal hallucinations brought to solidarity needs to be shared no matter how few care to see.

Right, shall stop freeloading off bucks' free wifi, aircond and space and go get some nice hot tea (for once).

sell-out: chilling at bucks

I are sell-out. I now indulge in twleve dollar coffee. tsk tsk.

But then again, I are not famous or anything remotely celebrity-ish therefore, the term 'sell-out' is not applicable.

*Gasp!* BAD Lolcat! Ekhem.. anyway, a certain auspicious rip (teehee!) brought me here thus I thought I might treat meself to this indulgence for once. ^^

Presenting mah iced mocha latte! gorgeous blend of chocolate to appease the senses with the flavour of coffee to awaken the mind. (first lolcats invades mah mind now starbucks..gah!)

Adding the few blog-writer's essential elements to rocking Esee's blog while I'm here. And I've gotta say, this is the home away from home. Plus, I was lucky enough to catch the sounds of singers thrilling jazz on the stage outside as opposed the other times when I heard there were screechbands performing. ugh.

Right, typing this up before closing. For once, a sign off from the bucks~

'grape' gripe

so planting grapes in the vicinity and comfort of my own home hasn't been so bad after all.
if anything, it gave me time to help my mom out with church camp related stuff and start fooling around with photoshop again. sort of.

ah, but here's a lesson to all of you who really love to plant grapes long time. don't spread around that you're planting grapes otherwise well-meaning friends will take 'pity' on you and give you something to do. (heh..sorry, SJ, it's a favour for you that happens to be for our uni) like, i'm supposed to be oath taker for my uni's orientation thingy this 20th. hmm, i still remember the rukun negara. amazing, no? but i won't know how long the pledge is going to be and yes, oath takers are supposed to memorise this. i suppose it makes it more 'believable' as in, making it look like we actually believe in what we're 'reading' to them. i'll let you know if it fits into my set of beliefs once i get the script, yah?

that's not my gripe though. this is, that the rehearsal is going to last all day this thursday. i still do not see why a relatively small formality function would require a full day rehearsal unless it is to accomodate certain VIPs' all-important timing and fussiness. my brain still refuses to comprehend why my rather small-easily forgotten role would require an entire day of training though of course in the worst case scenario, i'm the one who trips over my words and holds up the entire procession. should any participating members learn of my blog after that fateful day, i may then expect a barrage of belittling comments akin to ego-splintering bullets. *touches wood profusely*

as it is, the boyfriend's away at work now so it's back to carefully planned moments together. incidentally, he's got this thursday off and P suggested we go catch a movie or something. i guess i can't now though. compared to SJ's huge (to me la) sacrifice of forgoing a family trip to Bali/Redang if not for this 'thing', i really shouldn't complain i guess.

it's good blog fodder though...busybodies all over the world gimme a 'yeah!'.

SenseiSushiStashSaturday

before Mother's Day comes and i never post anything ever.

Saturday morning was spent attending a photography lesson at church with Ming Yan and Ditzy-sensei! lots of technicalities to be discovered and used amidst the creativity and some advice dished out.

come evening, it was sushi-time!! *rubs hands in glee*

me in the car pimping the bag that *takes deep breath* EileenCarmenLimeiBryanPhuiYhinWillyEuniceYeowBear (err..was there anyone else i forgot?) gave me. thanks, guys! and while i'm on the topic, here's some of the stash i looted got this year. :)

shoes and sunnies apart from other things from K. :)

cute Vin-doggy from Les Whales and famousAmos-tower-bear and Across the Universe soundtrack(!) cds from Le Walrus.

ok, enough sidetracking. on with the food!

but before that, one must thank the Tee family for their graciousness. Gen restaurant served us great buffet line-up out of their courtesy. arigato-gozaimas!

after being stuffed indefinitely to the brim, i even got to rent my very own camwhore partner for the night, Tze Yu! undisclosed pictures include statue hugging, mimic-ing and more. ;p

thus, all that's good in life.

cutesilicious~

Esther slept over on Saturday night.
We made something yummy...

Flowing band of rich chocolate,

Cream white fluffiness,

Lucious, juicy red,

Topped with cooly fresh green.

All to be revealed on someone's birthday. ;)

TAGGERY! *attempted dodge* SMACK! (ah dangit!)

What's this? Get-to-know-you session? ah well. it's relatively simple and i'm bored.

1. What is your favorite MOVIE?
- Across the Universe! i'm obsessed... *maniacal grin*

2. Who is your favorite SINGER?
- ME. cause when i hear myself sing, i don't get low self esteem but i avoid all karaoke-ish events. heh.

3. Which SONG gets you groovin' in the morning?
- for now, 'Teardrops on my guitar', by Taylor Swift. lyrics stuck in my head so, sad song but sung/hummed along to with extremely cheerful expression. :D

5. Who is your BEST FRIEND (excluding your family)?
- my Chickstas. him. P.

6. Name ONE ACTIVITY you would like to indulge in, in your free time.
- complete a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG jigsaw puzzle. nah, i dunno. i tend to use all my free time rather frivolously but to my enjoyment. of course.

7. When was the last time you LAUGHED SO HARD till your sides hurts?
- Yesterday. Something about a lamp post at Bear's birthday. ohohohoho.

8. Do you recall your LAST DREAM?
- No, but the most recent dream i recall involves me being dumped with a RM400 bill at a restaurant recommended by E by some of my closes friends. -_-"

9. What is your all-time-favorite HOBBY?
- LOL-ing.

10. When was the LAST HOLIDAY without the children?
- what children?

You have reached the end of the tag. And remember to visit the people below who are tagged by me:
1. Pauline (since you be liking memes so much ;p)
2. Jee (one last meme before internship ends)
3. Kelvin (just because)
4. Eileen (payback! don't care if you've done it. heh)
5. Mel & Chelle (long time dint make you guys do this nonsense edi. keke)

today is NOT anti-procrastinators day

so i'll finally do this meme because i am not a procrastinator! *avoids all accusing stares*


ekhem! now on with it!





1. When you look into the mirror…

i'm brushing my teeth. gurgle gurgle.

2. When did you last saw someone picking their nose?
dunno bout the last time but most memorable, i remember. probably some 5 years ago, stuck in a jam and bored, looked out of the window and voila! a man digging for gold while stuck in traffic. me and my at-that-time bestie looked at each other and burst out laughing. lol

3. What are you doing now?

acting as the new exotic office deco that disappears once it strikes six. heh.

4. What would be the best birthday present?

never really thought about it. it changes on a whim. let me get back to you, yah? thanks.

5. Who do you think it hot right this moment?

hmm....Josh Hartnett, Josh Hartnett, Josh Hartnett, and hey, whaddya know, Josh Hartnett! oh, and Jason Wade..voice to dream for.. ^^

6. Who annoyed you recently?

i am zen...my new spot in the office is an icebox so one would think my temperature rises so much more slowly yet once thrown into that throng of other vehicled people especially those who love cutting queue and causing massive wait, jam and headache for the rest of us, oh wow, one would be surprised how immediate the degrees jump. ^^;

7. Where did you meet your loved one? If you have yet to find, where do you plan to meet him/her?

over laughs at the uni cafeteria with a flirtatious cupid called 'Mami' by some of us though i don't supposed he remembers. :) and lovely as i've put it, the cafeteria is really a room in the building basement beside a carpark. lovely. ;p

8. How will you use this meme for the benefit of mankind?

by tagging bored people like me - Jee and belatedly tagging Pauline since she doesn't remember anyway. :P oh, and me completing it and actually posting it is, of course, already benefitting mankind. thank you. :P

(Almost) Every City Malaysian's Experience

1. Traffic jams
2. Eratic weather (lately)
3. Being sardin packed into KTMs/Buses/LRTs
4. Has had their phone/handbag snatched or stolen or knows someone who has
5. Good food

I've had a fantastic weekend. The unemployed, uneducated, lower class of society who stole my phone at the MidValley KTM today will probably know that since that's what i said in one of my messages to my baby if said *insert choice expletive here* could read.

That said, its gone and done with. Phones are close to impossible to trace, so i'm told, and i believe it what with all shady dealings and whatnot here. I did the only thing i could do at the moment - call my phone operator to bar my current sim card so at least my credit would be intact when i get a new one and start planning to take on part time jobs after internship so i can buy a new one.

Optimism? No, not really. just facing reality and not wasting my time and energy on a single miserable event. yes, i've lost photos of yesterday's malacca trip and not to mention some of today's but i'd like to believe that while the exact moment won't pass me by again, at least i experienced it and i'm still here to capture more and even better moments to come. Plus, like i mentioned, i had a really good weekend...

Yesterday, took a day trip down to Malacca with C and baby, jalan-jalan cari makan. hence, this country ain't all bad, i guess. lol. i heart satay babi~ and today's lunch/shopping outting with baby, J and P for their pre-birthday celebration was good. finally got my shoes! just as we were leaving, me and P decided to go to 'one last shop' and there i found it, on sale..! P's spotting be awesome~ ^_^ and then we headed to the KTM where the INCIDENT happened. heh, drama. but seriously, something should be done to increase security at KTM stations. it's the second time this sort of thing has happened to me. the first time, my jeans pocket was tighter so i felt the tug immediately and managed to stop the theft at, guess where, KTM station again. this time at KLCC.

during all that, bi and me were very pressed for time though, rushing to another appointment with yet another birthday boy who didn't know his celebration was happening today. amidst all the cheer, i'm sure he's learnt another valuable lesson - do NOT celebrate your birthday anywhere remotely near a pool if you're not planning to get wet. ;p

tired and rather bitter with morals of certain members of society now so a proper account of makan-makan trip and maybe today's genormous lunch pictures after i get them from others of course.

anyway, i'll survive. on to more important matters...

Happy birthday, P, J and I!

Dunking the end of CNY

tomorrow we will all resume our normal lives. by normal, of course, i mean that those of us with industrial attachments will be going back to work. ah, sweet mundanity, how i've not missed you.

not only does this signal the end of the only long break in my training (i think), this also means Chinese New Year is about at an end. sort of.


so! now that i've but scant moments before the clock strikes 12, what do i do with this precious hours?

spend them watching Kung Fu Dunk of course!
and not without my equally sceptical partner, K! ;p

picture taken from karazen

what??

it's traditional, does the word 'Kung Fu' in the title mean nothing to you?
it's slapstick.
it's corny.
it's Chinese.

Reasons enough for everybody? good. but also, it's Jay Chou. yes, if i wanted traditional, i could've gone for CJ7, right? Stephen Chou tradition. but nah, Stephen Chou is the king of CNY reruns. means we actually wanna watch them over and over. so i went for the other Chou.

to start with, the air conditioning in the hall we were in didn't seem to be working. how is this relevant? it isn't. very much like the bit in which Jay Chou's character, Shi Jie's four kung fu masters do their 'stuff'.

in fact, there is no plot, no character development, and almost no build-up. separate pieces of stories seem somehow just barely fit in there like badly jammed together jigsaw pieces. almost as if the whole idea was just stick everything onto Shi Jie.
there is, however, Jay Chou doing the 'peace' pose. and smiling! and emoting, in general! well, if the ploy was to help Jay's acting career by emphasising his capabilities as a main character, it worked.
to be fair, his efforts this time are really commendable. i greatly prefer this performance to that from 'Secret'. this brings him somewhat on par to those soppy taiwanese drama pretty boy actors and, i guess, that's a good start.

and i'll have to say, for once, i'm glad the leading man isn't the greatest actor around cause then the movie would be an utter waste of time. woops, here comes the little confession then...i watched it only for Jay Chou.
yeah, i wanted to see how he'd fare in a comedy.
he delivered a lil more than expected, the movie didn't. not for something that was rumoured to be based on the anime/manga 'Slam Dunk'. Rukawa (ah, that's his name. i sat through the entire show trying to remember >_<) didn't even shine in this movie. in fact, he and Shi Jie were pretty much pals. defiance, proving a point that this is not copied off Slam Dunk after all?

have it your way then. i'm just in it for a good laughtime with good company before tomorrow comes. ganbatte, everybody!

baked Chinese here.

i hereby photoblog through others because i love taking pictures but have no initiative to explain them myself. feel free to refer to K. and should any blogger like to spice up their blog with graphics but is not quite so snap happy, do consider bringing this uninitiated non-blogger along. she comes armed only with a camera phone (and occassional HP digi-cam) and asks only that trip expenses be paid. good company preferable.

advertisements aside, i must also dish out advice....

'Bila rezeki datang, jangan ditolak. Jangan juga dirungut.' (translation: When blessings come, do not refuse. Do not, also complain.) pre-CNY, i had my usual weight-related grumble-fest. And what happened to me on the first 2 days of CNY? stomach bug, flu, upset. whatever. i just couldn't keep anything down and i lost my appetite. thank God they only had seafood steamboat on the first day. (i hear people saying 'Only seafood?!?' sorry, not a big fan of seafood here. heh) But seeing all the snackies and having to just smile and say, "no, thank you" while your aunties think you're on another quest to lose more weight is...sigh. nevermind.

yesterday, while out having dinner with K, we shared a meal cause he wasn't hungry after all the pigging at Mien's house and i was testing gastronomical waters.

"Ooh! I've got my appetite back! MUAHAHA!" (O_o) oh dang, that's bad..." (-_-")

Cue K's cha dou face. heh.

But seriously, i'm thankful not to have the stomach ailment anymore cause that coupled with the headaches one gets with this wonbakefull weather equates the ultimate misery of not being able to enjoy 5 blissfull days off from work.
every grace i said yesterday was coupled with a ,'God, please let me keep this meal down.' yah, that bad, but it worked! that night, the thought hit me, 'step by step. that wasn't so hard now, was it?' put in a situation where i really have to rely on Him before i do. tsk tsk.


well, tonight will be dinner at my Godma's. mom nonchalantly said it'll be the noisiest day. i foresee a night of mah jong, black jack (i only watch, oh-kay..) and lots of snacking ahead. oh boy. Ratty Chinese New Year, everybody! >D

one quarter captured.

i happened to be in a very good mood after work one tuesday evening.

took out my camera phone at various times during the drive home and just snapped away.

the second one looks rather like a chinese new year card, doesn't it? ^^ i meant for the focus to be the sky. the colors, the serenity of it all amidst everyone's rush to get home. it was just pretty. taken with a camera phone, however, means the 'beauty' captured here is only one quarter of what i actually saw. more skill needs be developed to really show what i want everyone to see.

Speaking of chinese-y looking pictures, this one was taken at the Curve last Thursday. they've got their CNY mood up. ^^ went there for Fly.fm's Campur Chart. it was more to meet up with Lulu, Em, Shaa and Annz then anything else. industrial training not only means you're thrown into the working world, you face the experience alone. unless you're lucky enough to be placed with other classmates. so yes, it was good seeing them. ^^

the nice surprise was when my colleague also tagged along. thank God she did, otherwise i'm almost sure to get lost. heh. not only that, everyone else was late, so i hung around with my colleague, Em (yes, another one! lol), and her boyfriend and friends. K showed up not long after that, though and off we went to have donuts for dinner. yum~

Silent Scream is actually not a bad local band for those of you who like rock. Frequency Cannon played too. The energy was great, but i prefer them pre-recorded. and this time around, the crowd was rather lifeless. despite dancable rap tracks, it remained unmoved. tsk tsk.

well, that's a badly done summary of events. see you don't do it this way. ;p enjoy your weekend, everybody~!

mice love rice

wo ai ni,

ai zhe ni,

jiu xiang lao shu ai da mi

that annoyingly(according to lotsa people around me) cute chinese song i loved to sing after mandarin class in yr 1 sem 1. lol.

just had the image of a mouse holding up a (bitten) grain of rice looking confused.

now imagine that image multiplied so that it becomes mice that loves rice and people with those connical sawah padi hats come to mind, ending this imagery with lovely, peaceful, rolling green fields of padi. ahh..i think i've found my path to zen. xP

zen that i will seek everytime the combination of airconditioning, stuffiness and that 'office-ness' unites to give me a slight headache. yes, weekends make good times to seek solutions. overheated brains shutting down into numbness for self preservation do not give quality results.

i have been a grouch for two weeks. not good. tsk tsk. (and i'm sorry to all who had the misfortune of meeting me behind the wheel)

what i see every morning.

work is alright, really. i went to my first press conference under this company last week. ^^ was helping with registration, so basically, i sit there and smile and say whatever i'm told to. lol. other than that, i got to do abit of transcribing during the conference. must've gone cross-eyed with confusion from all the accountancy and property terms. @_@

however, i will (and must!) give my best for this 3 weeks. it's as it says on my offer letter, 'i hope i have a fulfilling internship with them.' prayers much appreciated and accepted, though.. ;) ja~!

REFRESHED! ^^

DSLR! Waterfall! YAC! sleeping soon..!

yeah, that's the highlight of today..
after about a week of internship and being cooped up in an office, today is a much eagerly awaited day trip. waterfall leh! i love waterfalls! >D the only minus point is that some people were smoking there. tsk tsk. surely the water refreshing, mind-clearing and enjoyable enough without having to add nicotine. i sort-of understand if one wishes to smoke at work cause, yeah, it's a stress relief for some but at a waterfall?? -_-"

then we had lunch together at AC first while waiting for Donny's friends to come lead us there. sat next to Leishia, Jason and Tony who's from China. So cute to watch Tony teaching Jason how to speak and pronounce mandarin words. xP but to quote Leishia, "You watch cute la. Try teaching and see??" well, his effort is commendable though. if i had that much spunk and good spirit, i might actually NOT be a xiang jiao ren now. heh.

and on to the trip! now, this is very ditzy but i've forgotten the name of the waterfall.(*edit - it's Sg. Gabai. Thanks, Leishia!) suffice to know that it's somewhere between Cheras and Kajang. the drive there was soh ser-low...not because of the driver, but that's what happens when we travel in 5 separate cars and have to wait for each other. so, what do youths do when stuck in traffic together-gether? we....

camwhore! then we bluetooth the photos around. (Shu Ling's Samsung has a gorgeous built in camera..! i jealous! xP) then when traffic gets reeeaally slow, we bring out the cards. Chor Dai Di anyone? even the driver can play, you know...win one round summore! haha. see, so honest, we play fair. oh, and i got posession of Ming Yan's DSLR for the journey. dang, bitten by the bug edi, i want one too..! the focus and clarity...sighh.. but, RM2k for the camera alone, not counted lenses. that's what i kept thinking about all the time i was holding that baby. xP need to get used to it, though. guess i got alot of rubbish photos in there while experimenting. sorry and thanks, Ming Yan!

at the waterfall, oh wait, MUST talk about the hike up. i guess it was the altitude and the steepness but even with proper stairs my legs were aching as we climbed. out of breath before we reached. bleh. but after resting for a lil while, i couldnt' wait to get in the water and play again. :D needless to say, the cold cold water perked us all up again. then, where's the fun in going to a waterfall if you don't get all wet and splashy? Rachel and me couldn't wait to get into the water. hehe. people white water raft, we come here and white water slide. ^^ again, Sunway Lagoon got beaten hands down. ;p but the one gal's stamina i gotta admire is Beatrice. since the start to the finish, she never stopped sliding down, climbing up and sliding down again. it's great though, cause i'd always have someone willing to go with me. Ju Wen another one.. eventhough she was hesitent due to a certain forgetful reason (heh), once she started, she never stopped. then just before our "last" slide down, i thought i lost my contact lens. it was so weird having perfect vision on one side and being blurry on the other. like one is the natural perfection i want, and the other is my reality. but having blur vision is better than none. make do with what you have. ;) i found it after sliding down though. felt it still somewhere poking my eyeball. soh glad i don't have to go buy a new box yet.. broke la this month with all the parking fees. T_T

then after all that hiking, playing, splashing, posing for pics, of course we'd be tired and hungry. went to this place called 'Kaki cafe' in Cheras (?) for dinner, western food for quite reasonable prices and friendly wait-staff. they even have live singers there for you to request songs. not voices that i quite appreciate but it was amusing to see Fiona, Rachel and Beatrice excitedly requesting songs much to Eugene C's chagrin. (apparently he doesn't 'appreciate' their vocal prowess either :p)

"WHERE'S MY TONG HUA?", B as we were leaving after dinner. the singer/guitarist came out to apologise and say that it's their break time. lol. cute ler.

real tired now, waiting for my hair to dry and so decided to "pen" down some of the more memorable moments of today before i forget and days turn to weeks then, 'suan le' too far back to blog about liao. i'd add pictures but i still haven't found my cable, so can't upload the photos.
:( might have to buy new cable. more money going out.. >_< *edit- i found it after all*

2008 irritation(s)

nope, i don't actually have two thousand and eight irritations. if i bothered to count all irritations up to even past a hundred, i might've just jumped off a building somewhere. *thinks of awful Sungei Wang incident with girl splatting and causing trauma for all* o-kay...on second thought, maybe sleeping pills will do. or some of you could just have a laughing fest and make me laugh to death (my ideal way to die) ;D



anyway, the point of this post was just to let you all know in my ranty, 'cheong hei' way why i cannot change my blogskin which makes me quite irritated because today is one of the rare days i will get to waste time on such things since indsutrial training started.



i have found the perfect layout. (for the moment ^^;)



it won't even hurt your eyes this time, i promise.



i've taken the necessary pics for it,



with my new phone (my favourite and best purchase of last year)



i can't find the connecting cable for my phone.



B.A.H.



so now this first post of the new year shall be read on an outdated 2007 CHRISTMAS layout that hurts old eyes. haha.



seeing as i probably won't have other chances to blog, i'll also mention here my last year's resolution which seemed like the easiest, most low commitment, absolutely-no-maintainence resolution ever that i couldn't attain after all. -_-"



i resolved to grow my hair waist-length. yes, bimbotic, ridiculous, nonsensical resolution. but you don't know how hard it is to maintain, ok... now on the 5th day of the new year, my hair is stubbornly mid-back length.








there we go. at least 3 inches short of my goal. ah well. this year, i haven't bothered with resolutions. to tell you the truth, i never have. the only resolutions i believe in are in the long term that don't change with the date. so, push last year's forward, eh? no one will ever know..oh crap, now you all do. ladida~

Happy New Year 2008!