Ryan turns dua puluh lapan

Ryan's birthday was a very simple affair. We had dinner with his best friends at Secret of Louisiana located at the Plaza Kelana Jaya. And after that we went crazy with the camera. Here are some of the shots that came up:



The birthday party

Someone caught us sneaking

 

Just me and you :)

In an attempt to avoid a collision that didnt work out

Heading to East Malaysia

It's been forever, i know. But there is just wayy to many things that have happened to start all over. So ill skip over the months and get to the point, I'll be moving to Miri. When i first got the news, i was surprised. Stunned and rather unpleasantly too.

However, in preparing to go there, I'm actually a little excited. I would definitely make the best use of my time there. I think of it as a blessing, i just don't really know what is it exactly. But i am certain that there is a reason for me to go to Miri, things dont just happen at random. Maybe it is to teach me something, get me closer to nature, work on fitness on a more sports basis.

I've got a tonne of plans in my head though i would like to be a lil realistic about them. I figured i should give myself some time to familiarize with Miri and also the workload before i dive in into dance class, singing lessons, language class, holidaying here and there, exploring caves etc.

Miri, here i come. I look forward to meeting you on Oct 27th :)

Room Makeover!!

Some many months ago, I moved house. Actually, it's hardly called a move, I just shifted exactly 11 doors down from where I used to live. But anyways, 11 or 101 doors, it involved lots of packing, loading, unloading and unpacking. This time around, I was determined to have a more cosy looking room. I shopped for lots of ideas from Ikea and also browsed through the volumes of interior design magazines I borrowed / coxed (very very nicely) Ryan into buying. *smiles with glee*.

The final piece of the makeover came from the Lusty carpet I wanted sooooo much from Ikea. And that came true when I brought mum and dad to Ikea. Them feeling very generous that day decided they could help me purchase it! Yay!!!

After the many many months of the make over, I've not posted the pictures up. The room does not look fancy but I love it to bits! Take a peek*

Right side of room


Left side of room


The siesta spot

Inspiring Music from Body Balance

One of my most favourite class at gym is Body Balance. The first few times of class had me really pushing myself very hard to stay balanced. I had the "shivering" legs and knees, which of course the instructor said was part of learning. Once i got over that stage, I now can stand without actually wobbling all over.

But having a great workout itself is only one part of it. The reason that i find the class a must-not-miss is the music! The song selections are marvelous and most of all, inspiring. Let me share with you my top 2 tracks:

It's Amazing by Jem


Look No Further by Dido

Meet Queenie

I met her while walking to the LRT station heading to the airport on a bright Monday morning. She was smack in the middle of the road and neighbours grouped around to admire her. She must have been afraid or still shaky because she didn’t budge even when cars honked her. And no wonder she attracted a crowd, she looks really cute. I paused to look at her.
5 days later as I was exiting home, something darted out of under the car. It was small, brown and it yelps. I turned around to find her staring in my face and boy, was I surprised. “Where in the world did you come from?”

Later my housemate Peter told me the whole story. Apparently she followed Peter back home when he came back from work and refused to leave. He felt pity for her, she was scared, hungry and all alone. So he figured, he’ll give some time for her to be found. Perhaps her owners are around looking all over for their adorable cute puppy. He’s been giving her food, shelter and most of all, love and attention. That is how Queenie came about to our home.
No one should be fooled by Queenie’s innocent looks. She’s really smart. The moment she hears the sound of keys from inside, she would be waiting at the door expecting someone to play with her. And she has an obsession for footwear, it could be anything – a sport shoe, slipper, sandals… those are her favourite play things. Now we keep all our shoes inside lest they become one with her digestion juices.

She has recently overcome her need for shoes but this time replaced with one far worse – our fingers! She loves snapping at them. But still, she’s very lovable. I have overcome my fear of dogs in one day since she arrived. Though Ryan would beg to differ when he had to console me several times that Queenie’s “attack” on my feet is merely play. I missed her very much when I was away for a week.
It is the nicest feeling to come home every day with her greeting me at the door, tail wagging hard. Playing with her is an excellent way to work out too, within 15 minutes, I’m drenched in sweat equivalent of my 2km run.

Now, she’s being taught basic commands like sit. I should also teach her how to spit things out. A couple of days back, my keys fell to the floor as I locked the door, she made a quick dash for it and happily left leaving me trapped inside my own house. She has the naughty moments like that but still nowhere close to Marley. Most of all, she’s well loved.

Blegh

Knots tightening in your stomach, gassy uneasiness, the “finger” which is stuck in your throat, nausea, body ache and complete weakness of the body as if one has no bones for support. Horrible isn’t it? That’s what you get when you’re attacked by food poisoning.

Ryan is down food poisoning and I feel for him. It is a horrible feeling being so feeble and helpless. There is no better of the 2 evils; the purging or the vomiting. They both leave you exhausted and dehydrated.

Several years ago during orientation week, I came down with a severe case of food poisoning. I couldn’t hold anything in due to the constant throwing up, not even water. On my second visit to the doctor, I had to shamefully reveal my buttock for a jab which fortunately saved my life. It was that or the hospital and no way was I going to get hospitalized. The scent of sanitizers from hospital lobbies are enough to creep me out.

When I was in Cambodia, I had my other bout of food poisoning. Again I was held down by the revolting smell of food exiting my mouth a good 10 times a day. I think I lost 5 kgs in that trip. Fortunately I was at my final leg of my trip, or else what a spoiler it would have been not to see the sights and sounds of Siem Reap and Phnom Penh comfortably.

What do to when you’re sick? I take comfort in lying down snuggly on the couch to watch all the rubbish shows on tv which I would never bother in the first place for sheer waste of time. Or read a book hungrily in completition with myself to see if I could finish the said book before I recover. And most of all, to sleep and soak in mummy’s love as she takes care of me :).

Please please please

I can barely sit down. I’m super anxious and fidgety. And stressed up. All this over poring over the airasia.com website for free seats.

Call me cheapskate but if I could save RM400 (on the minimum) for my flights, that would mean I could perhaps extend a one night stay! And I really need a vacation badly. That’s perhaps one of the best things I look forward to for each year. I don’t think that’s too much to ask – a solid, fantastic vacation, away from the o.f.f.i.c.e to soak up the sun, sleep to the sound of waves, stroll on an evening walk leaving footprints on the sand and just… rest.

So as I pore over pages and pages of the Air Asia’s website, I’m silently praying to find a lil pleasant surprise of a free seat still available. Ive been trying for almost 3 hours already. Oh, let it be error free too.

If you love me, hope the best for me.

Coz me need me vacation.

Don’t think you would want a crazy person for a friend right? :P

Do You Know What I'm Thinking?

I'm just bursting inside. Coz I just can’t wait! Yes yes i know, it is not till many MANY months away but hey, that doesn't mean a girl can’t be excited!

So, do you want to know what am I thinking of? Let me let you in a teeny tiny secret into my head of dream land... Tadaa

I'm also thinking of this...

... this...

and this...

And where exactly am I dreaming about?

Here!

Sleep 0- Work 0

Today is just one of those days. No wait, its been a string of a few days already, this past whole week. I just can’t seem to shake it off.

I’m tired of working.

When the 5.55am alarm clock rings, I wake up feeling like I barely slept at all which is crazy because I’ve been sleeping between 11pm and midnight everyday.

I need a break. Weekends alone are not enough. I doubt it’s the post-holiday syndrome from merdeka weekend, which btw was excellent. I ate to my heart’s content and did absolutely nothing (much to the chagrin of my sisters).

I miss having the 6-8 weeks break after 14 weeks of hard work aka lecture+exams as a student.

I want a break, not come to work and just sleep. Seriously.

Mumbai Se

It feels like a very long time since I last took the time to really sit down and write. It is always the case of not really having the time to do this, at my leisure. I spend hours in front of the pc in the office so when I reach home collapsed with mental exhaustion; I avoid the computer like a disease.

But today, I feel like writing. And im happy that I managed to squeeze a lil bit of time for this lovely blog.

Lots of things have taken place in the last few months. The last I wrote was on my vacation to Perhentian Island. After that, Ryan and I attended Merchants of Bollywood in Istana Budaya. The song and dance routine is captivating, the synchronization perfect and the colourful costumes and boy, those dancers can really move with so much energy and enthusiasm!

2 weeks ago, I went to Mumbai Se just right off Asian Heritage Row to celebrate Ryan's cousin's 18^th birthday.  And I swore not to go there again unless someone drags me by my poor legs in. Clubbing that night reminded me why I no longer club these days – the smoke, the weird (in this case extremely weird) people, the horrible stain that hangs onto my clothes, the drunks and the ringing in my ears after that.

But most of all, the oddest crowd of Mumbai Se takes the cake. Can you image my shock when I saw old people (yes, if you're 45 and above in a club, you're O.L.D.) waltzing around with their amma looking clothes.  Did they think Mumbai Se plays ghazal music? Someone must have advised them wrongly, poor souls. Somewhere around midnight, I saw ladies wearing sarees and salwar kameezs walking in, apparently from a wedding sangeet. For crying out loud, you don't wear traditional costumes to a club, what were these people thinking? And if they came from a sangeet which is basically a song-and-dance party, not enough dancing kah? Aiyoh

The music – well, I don't watch hindi movies which meant I know hardly if any songs and I kept track of the number of songs that I think I know, it came down to 15 including 3 english songs they played. It was also pretty obvious that the crowd don't really listen to English songs, when the DJ played Rock This Party by Bob Sinclair, most of them left the dance floor *slaps forehead*.

Did I tell you about the drunks? They were first hilarious then progressed to being disturbing. Every table, save ours had at least a bottle of whiskey and these people make some real strong drinks – 2 parts whiskey and 0.5 part cola. Yes, I played people watching as I mostly sat down thru the night. Thankfully most drunks seated around us were happy drunks so their dancing got more "happening" with hands flapping around. The dude next to us couldn't even pour his drinks anymore, his hands were trembling and half of anything poured fell onto the table instead. So multiply that dude with 15 others, then it became quite unpleasant. So yeah, I would give Mumbai Se a miss which is pretty sad after all the supposed fun and good things my friends have been telling me about the place. First impressions count and alas this one was in poor taste.

Hhmm... I do believe that Mumbai Se as a whole is not such a horrible place. I know some patrons there and they have a blast with each visit. It's just not my scene.

 

Art, plays and teatre have been some of my most favourite things. This was one of my biggest pleasure since coming to the big city a year ago, all these are within reach and events are always up to give me my dose of acting, or rather watching it.



And 2 of my very good friends who are the backbones of Electric Minds Project (EMP) are up with a new show “The Things We Have Lost”. I’m so excited for them and the upcoming show!



A woman with a gun tries to fix her relationship. Three children contemplate selling a house, and their memories of it, one after the other. A mother grieves for her child in an unusually cruel fashion. Friends sift through the ashes of their previous lives. Two lovers contemplate eternity, the view from their rooftop, and moving to Mongolia. The Electric Minds Project is proud to present The Things We Have Lost, a showcase of original Malaysian short plays about grief, despair, abandonment, and hope.

Venue: PJ Live Arts, Jaya One
Date: 12-15 August 2009 @ 8.30 pm
15-16 August 2009 @ 3.00 pm
Admission by donation of RM20
Bookings: 017-232 2578 or 012-306 1229

Info about EMP The Electric Minds Project theater company started out as friends getting together to read scripts, encouraging and motivating each other to write and perform. This sharing of experiences; coming together and being creative as a group has taught the members of EMP that there is a large, untapped creative potential in Malaysia. We want to represent that talent. We want to encourage writers, nurture performers, and put their work before an audience. We want to get that work to a wider audience. We want our fellow Malaysians to be infected by the same love for performing arts that so far has only been felt by the minority.

Promotions:
For every 9 tickets bought, get 1 free.
Student prices: Buy 10 tickets = 25% off all tickets.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt_SC_J5wV8
Facebook event page http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=95476304823&ref=ts
PJ Live Arts info: http://www.jayaone.com.my/pjla.html

Ill be there. Wont you?

Vietnam Travel Adventure

So, i was away for a week in Vietnam for work. This trip was a real adventure, from sleeping in a small tiny hotel (which was kinda haunted), to having seafood 5 days straight for lunch AND dinner (oh no, my cholesterol levels!), sitting 6 hours in a van to get to the provinces till our bodies ache, lugging around the luggage bags, laptops and files, the language barrier which was more funny than challenging, the very humble and accommodating people of Vietnam and did I tell you about the motorbikes there? They are EVERYWHERE!

Let’s take a look at the pictures.


The no star kinda haunted hotel room. We had a super single and a double bed in the rooms. And we were the special guests coz we got to sleep in the rooms which had air-conds. No hot shower.


And i just the creepiest feelings staying here. I even panicked and ransacked my entire room thinking i lost my passport before my boss reminded me that we left it at the reception counter upon checking in. I looked like i saw a ghost when i couldnt find my passport.


The makan stall right outside our hotel in Dong Nai province


The morning market at the adjacent road to the hotel


The unique looking statue at one of the many roundabouts in Saigon


The night market right outside Ben Thanh Market, Ho Chi Minh


Shoes Shoes Shoes, night market right outside Ben Thanh Market


The Petaling Street of Saigon??


And this only half the crab. The full crab is the size of both hands put side by side!


Yummy prawns. I had prawns cooked in so many different ways - steamed, fried, butter, baked


Huge aren't they?


We had to eat maggi mee one night as there wasn't any restaurants around. And we used sign language to tell the hotel keeper to help us cook it!


Rice pudding


A healthy helping of fried eggs


Fried rice wrapped in lotus leaf


Uyen and I (we were classmates in uni) as she dropped me back at the hotel. The motorbike ride was so cool! It was great catching up with her :)


Uyen and her ride...

Where are your manners?

The last week has got me gritting my teeth with people who are just plainly blind and oblivious to simple, basic, manners. Just this morning, as the LRT was getting more packed with subsequent stations, a girl was trying to get in by shoving her way through with no courtesy to say excuse me. Well, if she didn't want to say anything, the least she could have done was to look at the person in front and a nod for acknowledgment before making her way through.

 

So after jostling her way through (she really didn't need to as there was still space), she got herself to the nearest pole, squeezed herself between me and the other girl next to me, pressed her entire abdomen to the pole and proceeded to read her book as if there is no other care in the world. I glared at her hoping she would take some consideration to move as her boobs were exactly where my hands were placed. Alas, the book must have been extremely interesting for her to have not realized. With her body parts leaning against the pole, I could not move my hand.

 

When we arrived at the Masjid Jamek station and 2 people next to us were getting off, she again tried to push my hand to take over the places. My laser eyed stare again *failed* as she thrust herself forward. As she stood in front of me, she gave me a sheepish smile only to be returned with "You could have said excuse me". The lady had to be told off, I was not going to just take a rude person getting away with that without at least letting her know! You want to know what the best part is – she's a well respected person working in my company!

Perhentian Dinanti

Note: A re-post as the last post was a lil screwed.

 

So today I'm back in office after a great, no, super duper awesome weekend in Perhentian. The ending to the island escapde only dawned upon me when I arrived at KL Sentral from the airport. The place is buzzing and the rush of people dashing everywhere. It is back to the crazy, fast paced, traffic inducing lifestyle.
 
Oh, how wonderful it was in Perhentian. It felt like time stood still. I did so little and yet so much; I slept, ate, had a lil too much of sun, drank lots of carbonated drink, snorkeled and truly immersed into taking my own sweet time to do things.
 
Perhentian is absolutely breath taking. The lush green treens, the wooden beach chairs, the white sand, the many blue shades of clean clear water, the breeze that sways the pretty coconut tree leaves, the friendly people I met on our trip, the very hospitable chalet staff, yummy food, the bubbly lady at the mini mart who simple refuses to believe that I'm Malaysian coz I apparently look very Eurasian, the beautiful corals and oh so pretty little colourful fishes, the turtles that swam so fast I only saw its tail, the stingrays which took a day off on Saturday, the sharks which were scared of us humans… It had all the ingredients to a beautiful memorable holiday.
 
I have no complains of my tan and would readily get another if I could get one more day in Perhentian. And guess what, I get to check one more item of my list. Weee~

 

Post Script: I know it seems like I have vanished - the last post being about a month ago. But I've been really tied up with work and when I do get to chill, I come back being a lil lazy to load up the pics. They will come up soon enough.

The Remedy

It is one of those days. It doesn't happen very often. But when it does, all I want is for the day to end early.

 

The brain is mentally squeezed like a towel wringed to dry. The physical body is not the active athlete it usually is. The smile has diminished halfway through the day. As I complete task after task, I find myself robbed of time to work on my single most major assignment. This is not just any job, it is one that will determine the course of events for the next one year. It requires finding and striking a balance with what I want and what I can (hopefully and eventually) get. The juggling act is no easy feat, It has to be fair, justified and bear the high possibility of liquid changes.

 

Part of me wants to shrink away in an invisible cocoon. People can see and hear me but touch-me-not. I guess I'm just a little worn out and in the mood to whine. I want the day to end, let darkness dawn upon me as I crawl into the comforts of my sheets and sleep like a baby with no worries.

 

Note: i couldn't think of a title so i just shuffled my playlist and tadaa...

 

Kul's-Nice-Room Mission

I'm moving to a new house, 12 doors away from Casa Maya. And in the midst of all the packing, house cleaning (omg, it was sooooo tiring *pengsan*) and furniture moving, I can't help but think how to I make my room look better. And seeing my room is slightly different from the current one, I can't use the old layout.

 

I kept visualizing in my head where I'm gonna put my wardrobe, chest of drawers, bed and study table with various combinations but nothing really striked out. I did get come creative input from the man to which I just couldn't really see it through. In fact, the thinking was so intense, I had sleepless nights equivalent to those of Transport Phenomena and Chemical Thermodynamics night before the exam paper just thinking of the room. So to put myself out of the misery, I went for ideas shopping at Ikea.

 

Well, I've been there several times but never really took the time to absorb everything nor pay attention to all the details. It's always the case of accompanying someone who already knows exactly what he/she wants so the trips tend to be very short. So last Saturday, I made a trip there determined to be armed back with fresh ideas and concepts to play around with. It felt like I was there more for inspection than a jolly trip over the weekend coz I took lots of mental notes and some pictures of things I thought would really work out. I did wish I had endless loads of money though, there were so many pretty stuff there which would cost me my 2 arms and 2 legs in the black market before I could get them all.

 

I finally settled down for this particular room as I liked the concept and it works for me. The room is also roughly the size of the one I'm moving into. My basic furniture are already available (feel so *broke* now after putting in the necessary deposits and getting some items) but it's the small details, colours, lights etc that adds the magic factor to the ambience and visual impact of the room.

 

And I sooooo want a nice lovely room to just cosy up in after a long day of work. I got an earful from mom from wanting to buy all these "unnecessary" things but hey, everyone is entitled to an awesome room kan? So if there are any kind souls out there who would like to help me out in my Kul's-Nice-Room mission, please gladly volunteer yourself. The pictures below are some remarkable items I would love to be the proud owner of.