Dragon Beard Biscuit

Gladness x 10000... till infinity!!

I survived my first 2 weeks in Nottingham, and managed to come home in one skinny piece. Sad to say I have lost quite abit of weight, albeit unwillingly, the food there is really, and I mean REALLY terrible. The more I eat, the worse it tastes. Fortunately enough, there's Ramly's Burger patties which are of standard quality! Also the chicken rice stall, which is understandably, overwhelmingly popular. One thing I dislike about that stall is that their chicken serving is so so small. Even my 10 year-old brother would complain.

I'm home now. Pinging on food every other hour. Also going out later for a birthday party. After being locked on campus grounds for nearly the entire week, I took the PLATINUM (more precious than golden ma...) opportunity to go out. We hit Jusco Metro Prima, and lingered among the departmental stores for abit. By the way, for all the girls out there, ITS SALES TIME! from 29/9 till I don't know, end of October? Better go early or all the great bargains/ common sizes will be all sold out by the time you had a chance to even see what's up for grabs. Yup, females are extremely competitive when it comes to the magical word 'SALE'. Its almost like when you hear that word, you can almost hear the Hallelujah chorus that comes with it.

This is when...

...they run fast, even if they're on their tallest heels.
...they start being nice to husbands/ boyfriends
...they empty their bank accounts
...they go on a credit card swiping spree
...banks and credit card salesmen come out at full force
...they stop being nice to fellow females, just because they grabbed the last piece of skirt.

and the list goes on. Teeheehee~

I decided not to wrestle with them and went the the central exhibition area. Bearing in mind that Mid-Autumn Festival's next friday, I held my breath as I charged past desperate looking Mooncake promoters, ignoring everything they say. I feel so bad doing it. It's rude and they're just trying to earn a living out of it. And yet, sometimes they can be pretty annoying. Besides, I don't want them to waste time trying to persuade me to purchase any of their products. I'm not a big fan of mooncakes, really. The only species I eat is of the "Ping Pei Lin Yong" variety. It means snow skin with lotus paste. Don't give me others, especially those with eggs. I will be forced to decline, and that'll be rude. Artificial flavouring, colouring, excessive sugar... Ugh, utterly disgusting! Like a passport to Diabetes, Kidney Stones, Obesity, and Cardiac Seizure.

Right at the end of the "Mooncake Parade", I see a small crowd. Surrendering to my busybody genes, I managed to squeeze over for a peek. I see a chef with their signature very tall white hat, making "Long Sou Peng", Dragon Beard Biscuit. You should take a look at the white dough-like thingy. It's finer than hair and mildly sweet. All handmade! Can you believe it? A man, standing in front of a large crowd of impressed audience, proving it right under their noses. I find it so superbly amazing I just couldn't resist recording it down so that I can share it with everybody.

There you go, shot with my trusty Sony Ericsson K610i, and it's 2mp camera. It's not perfect. You must understand that I'm no Ang Lee or Steven Speilberg, especially with evil aunties trying to get me out of their way by pushing every now and then. I stood my ground and refused to budge. But they never get that message, they just keep attempting to push me every minute. Don't they ever give up? Oh yeah, it's a little dizzy because I was kinda playing with the zooming function too, teeheehee. Believe it or not?!

*Sorry Mr.Ripley, borrow your signature line for one entry only.*

In Nottingham

This blog is NOT DEAD! There may not have been updates for quite some time now, I know. I have been stretching favours from people to come fix the internet connection in my flat. Then came a certain Alex who saved the lives of Desperate-Internet-Deprived-First -Years just last night! Whoopee!

Although I am back online, I'm afraid my course's much tougher than I had initially expected. The overview itself kills. Credits, passes, essays of thousands of words, they're haunting me.

For our Pharmacy course this year, there are roughly 41 students, among which, only 6 are guys. Teeheehee~ any other Nottingham-mers intending to switch courses? VERY high girl:guy ratio, you know?

Then we have our own ice-breaking session, only for Pharmacy students. Pharmacy faculty rocks, man! And... guess what? We have our very own "IMCC"s too! But, unfortunately, we weren't give much time and money to prepare our "girls" as flamboyantly as IMUs. Nevertheless, the "girls" we have are as pretty, if not prettier than IMUs, muahaahaahaa~

Girls marched in, armed with hair accessories, jewelleries, and best of all... MAKEUP! With an evil smirk on my face, I started to decorate them faces to my hearts evil content!


Mr. Barbie, by Ngee Zheng.


Mr. Siti Nurhaliza, by Kelvin.


Mr. Whatever-Cup, by Chong Ngie.

Lovely, no? I give them full respect for being such a sport. Guys, welcome to female dominance!

I have the video of the "pageant" on my laptop, for those who are interested, please contact me personally.

As for this week, there will be a week long orientation, all happening at night, because classes begin during the day =( However, the ice-breaking night (this time it's for the participation of all the first years) was a total blast. We came in clean and powered up, and left drained, sticky, sweaty and FULL. One of the games involved sucking a watermelon dry with only, get this, a miserable looking straw. I'm so sick of watermelons now, I think I shall stay away from it for the next 3 months, at the very least!

We also got to meet loads of people. If there's one thing I love about this place, it will be its diversity of nationalities as well as religion. There is a large number of international students who are very impressive in every possible manner thus far. According to the CEO, there are students from over 40 countries constituting this truly international community. I have yet to meet one from each country, but I shall make this my long term goal on this campus. So far, I have met fantastic people from, Kenya, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, England, Hong Kong, Tanzania, etc. And yup, I'm having the time of my life just loitering on the corridors, occasionally pouncing on unsuspecting friends.

I still get to go home, every weekend. The reason why we ALL want to, is probably due to one reason, and one reason only. FOOD. Glorious home cooked food! The food in the cafeteria? Edible, but not appetizing. The food outside campus? Edible, and tasted great in comparison. The food back in KL/ at home? HEAVENLY! Campus food is pale by far. By far, I mean REAL FAR, as in lightyears and lightyears away. Well, the funniest thing has got to be our mode of transaction in the cafeteria.

Monopoly money!!!


Lol, don't ask me how, nor ask me why. They may be just a tiny piece of paper, but they're worth as much as the value printed on it. Who knows? I might just scan them onto the computer and produce duplicates! Muahahaha...

Sadly, my knowledge on technology is nowhere near mediocre. This place here is full of freaking high-tech technology. They certainly make T-Gen and Blackboard 6 look horribly amature-ish. Heck, I don't even understand what are those even after attending an entire lecture on them. This is bad, real bad, for a tech noob as outdated as me who relies solely on obsolete equipment and softwares. Especially when they emphasized that they will be making full use of these faccilities. Gah, I shall go read up on what this technology mumbo-jumbo is all about. *mumbles* As if I don't have enough research to do after class... *toot* *toot* *toot*

Meanwhile, this is my latest accomplishment (may even be the only one) in the university. Teeheehee~ A million thanks to Ken & Lilian, my coaches!

Tensing up and releasing it

I woke up in horror as I stared into the mirror for the first time that day. Something evil is on my face. A Big Fat Zit. In a fit of rage, I hereby declare Sate Kajang GUILTY!



Oh why, did I surrender to its temptation of mouthwatering satay?
Oh why, did I over-indulge myself in such deadly food?
And now, I shall have to suffer the pain of the consequences. A zit is not just a zit. Its one of the most haunting torture, physically, mentally, emotionally... everything! The bad news that accompanies it is that its inevitable. Someone is bound to get one at some point of their lives. For those who brag about flawless complexions ALL THE TIME, you just wait and see!

Usually, when I get one, I try to avoid the mirrors. Because once I come into contact with one, I'll stare at it for minutes, at the same time wishing very very hard for a fairy wand to zap it to hell. I become a worry wart when I get one, I don't deny it. To helps ave myself, I went out for a movie with my cuzzies...

We watched My Super Ex-Girlfriend at Cineleisure's Cinema 6.


Rating: 6.5

I'd say its a decent enough distraction to keep me from the mirrors. At times, I feel like the movie is trying too hard to be funny. Out of the many attempts, there were only a miserable handful of scenes worthy of a short chuckle. The storyline, however, is something fresh, yet it deviates a little to the tacky side. As for the actors, they just weren't good looking enough to at least make the movie worth more of the viewers time. I thought, the acting was merely mediocre.

Enough about the movie, I now want to talk about the cinema. I remember Cineleisure, the only cinema who checked my Student ID for its expiry date. At that time, it has expired. But technically speaking, we're still students, right? It must be desperate to sell its adult tickets for their customer turnout is really rather pathetic. I can understand why. On my first visit there, that Student ID issue did nothing to encourage people to go back. The seats weren't as comfortable as GSC 1 Utama's. In addition to that, the hall was a little too empty for comfort, to extend of being a little creepy. Cinema aside, the Cineleisure building was practically empty, except for several souls wandering on the shop-less floors. I told myself I didn't like it, and will not go there voluntarily again. Since GSC 1 Utama's like nearby, why should I settle for less, huh? They charge the same! This time, I went back because my cuzzies who has just returned from the US and the UK (rich, lucky kids), wanted to try out the place. I went there, this time with hope, and left in disappointment. Hall 6 STINKS, literally, of unwashed socks. I know so, because I used to be a librarian of a library that rejects entrants with their shoes on. Phew... They should have some deodoriser handy. Their popcorns tasted sickly too. Whatever happened to the tradition of making good popcorns? They tasted sweet, but that was it. Other than that, the flavour is rather bland, and the aroma is nowhere to be found. The only thing that saved the day was Movie Day!



RM 6 for movies all day. Now I don't have to pay extra for having an already expired Student ID, teeheehee~ Not to mention I didn't have to pay a freaking sum of RM 10 for such a lousy cinema experience.

I know I'm tensed. I shall retreat to the nearby pond and feed our latest residents at Valencia Township. 6 beautiful ducklings!



Look, they swam so near that I could take this shot without any zooming. Aren't they adorable? Just feeding these graceful creatures makes me feel so much better. They reminded me of my loyal pet rooster of 5 years that my mom gave away before we moved here. *sobs*

Never underestimate an auntie

Sometimes, I just like to go out with my mom to pick up my still schooling siblings. This oppotunity promises me a chance to maneuver behind the wheel. Heh heh. My mom knows I'm such a big fan of Raikkonen, I wouldn't pass off the chance to drive like him, as if this poor Honda City is McLaren's MP4-21, IF she releases me on the road, unsupervised!

Call me inconsiderate if you like, but I gave up memorising my sibling's schedules years back. Not only are their timing are subject to change nearly every other week, no two days of schedule are identical, since... I don't know, forever? Plus, I have THREE other siblings! I'd rather reserve my constantly dying braincells for other stuff. Like people always say, MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS, right? What I'm so totally impressed with is my mom's super brain ability to keep track of everything in everyone's lives. She gave up her job in a legal firm more than a decade ago, to dedicate her time to carrying us all around KL and Selangor. Allow me to just state a brief example of her tough job. As a young girl, I lived in Kepong, studied in Ampang, attended tuition in Kota Raya, and PJ, among others. Yes there are more. And that's just me. I remember a year back, my mom was the "crazy" woman with 4 kids in 4 different schools, Taylors, Kepong (2), Lai Meng, and Bandar Utama Damansara (2). How she memorised all our off-times, holidays, who to pick first, who to drop next, which route to take, and who's got tuition next, etc, is unbelievable. Unlike certain families, we are not blessed with the power to afford a driver. Sure, we have a domestic helper in the house, who takes her own sweet time doing cleaning work ONLY. Mom still manages to juggle kids AND marketing AND cooking AND shopping AND bills!

I suppose you're wondering why am I assessing the syllabus of Mom-hood, out of the blue. Here's why.



Just to make myself clear, that's not my mom, not my brother and not our car. Haha, it's some random auntie I shot discreetly with my brand new handphone. Just take a look at those thunder thighs, I definitely don't want her charging at me with those waving her fists for photographing her. *sniggers*

Let me tell you what this auntie is all about. She has a daughter studying in SJK (C) Kepong 2, who finishes her "normal" classes at 1pm. After that, it will be followed by a compulsory "tuition" session in the extended school compound that will start after their 45 minutes lunch break. It ends somewhere around 4 something in the afternoon. The weird thing is, she'll be facing the same subject teachers in those classes. Those teachers must love their students so much they want to spend nearly all the time allowed by God for daylight just to be with them. But, nevermind that. What you see in this picture is the fully-equiped mom has parked her car in this strategic parking spot, waiting for her daughter. By the word "strategic", I mean the following: shady, less than 10 seconds from the entrance, has to come at least 30 minutes earlier to snatch it from other desperate moms. The next 30 minutes will be spent to open up the booth to create extra shade, blasting the air conditioner, setting up a little table with stools, bringing out their carefully prepared, nutritious homemade lunches, and pulling out a pair of glasses to spot her daughter. I tell you, its only a matter of time before these moms move on to a pair of binoculars. In less than a second after the school bell rang, a stampede will come into sight. All your see is little heads bobbing out of the school at FULL SPEED! The crowd itself is bad enough, without having your kid being hidden behind a gigantic schoolbag.

It's like some kind of telematch. I see the kid sprinting towards the auntie, who has her arms spread out in such a position that she could grab the schoolbag as the girl rushed pass her. Instinctively, I see the girl swallowing her lunch, while her mom unloaded some of the unnecessaries, such as a DICTIONARY! Might I add that, a typical chinese dictionary is about twice as big as The Oxford Dictionary?! And they don't carry those small pocket sized ones, because their schoolwork is so advanced, the tiny information deprived budget version just doesn't quite cut it. Then, I saw her magically pull our a hanky, wet it with a bottle of water, then rub it all over her face. Seriously, these aunties can think of everthing! That sight, just struck a chord in me.

They may be uneducated, scruffy, and a little rough on the edges. But, to working parents who earn 5 digits worth of moolah each month to spend on daycare, nannies and maids, they are incomparable super-moms.

**added on 14/09**

So long PIBG. Introducing the latest Student's Defense Council >>> PI (Persatuan Ibu). They attack in droves, and has built an army large enough to rival Julius Caesar's. I can't even capture all on a single camera screen! As for Bapa & Guru? Get your own stools.

The Legal Age.

My florist days are now over. With one job down, I've only got one job left to handle. Heh heh, a little more income doesn't hurt. Although I have decided to devote half of September to preparing for hostel life, I can't say I completely drowned in those preparations. Because... because... I don't know what to prepare!

Thank God I have managed to complete my shopping before the Mega Sales ended. That means that my clothes shopping list is done. I have a separate shopping list to cancel out now. I need pails, SEVERAL of them! (for washing and soaking, you know the drill...) Probably brooms, mops, rags, bedsheets, and pillows too. Not forgetting clothes detergent, dishes detergent, cleaning detergent, shower gels, shampoos, cleansers, and ample supply of instant food and beverages, canned stuff as well as junk snacks! I never thought living somewhere else would be such a hassle!

My previous interpretation of moving in was just, bring your clothes and yourself, that's it! The more you think about it, the more complicated it seems. But, no~ everything in life has to be so complex. And complications drive me nuts. As if the nervousness is not pushing me onto the brink of depression / nervous breakdown already. I believe, many of us have taken living-at-home life for granted, specifically luxuries such as the water heater, the air conditioning, and our loyal domestic helper. As such, I have surrendered to intense training on common domestic tasks, such as perfecting my culinary skills, washing clothes without a machine, sleeping without the air conditioner, and the worst yet, bathing in icy cold water. It sucks, it really did. Especially when all are done at once.

As if these are not bad enough, the bank turned down my application for an atm card. Simply because I'm not legally 18 yet. What the hell? Why is the world so biased? Just because one hasn't reached 'The Legal Age' yet, doesn't mean one can't handle the obstacles and challenges that are to come. Age is just a number. If this is in the 1950s, I wouldn't have argued. Over the years, educations systems have been improved, performance of kids have been bragged about in political mandates, even MILK POWDERS are so freaking high-tech armed with bacterias and AHA/DHA/whatever-A to enhance the development of babies brains, accelerating their journey from the realms of from gugu and gaga, to warcraft and dota even faster than ever. People are now maturing at such an alarming rate, that by 15 years old or so, they are much more capable than an average 20 year old decades back. They should consider an amendment on this matter ASAP.
Come on, chant with me.

BRING DOWN THE AGE! BRING DOWN THE AGE! BRING DOWN THE AGE!

Personally, I think 16 would be rather acceptable... for now.

It just leaves me wondering, whether if I can survive all this?

When a beauty marries a beast...

"The Wedding of the Year"...



...Between Malaysia's Malay Pop Darling, Siti Nurhaliza with an old, perverted goon, Datuk Khalid Muhammad Jiwa.

Sorta reminds me about "Beauty and the Beast". The difference is that the beast shall remain a beast forever, and will not turn into Prince Charming. Only God knows without the transformation, will there still be a "happily ever after". I was also reminded of something else. I think I have come across a literary piece from our miserable Secondary School syllabus, about a certain Sultan Muhammad Jiwa who loves eating veggy cooked with blood. Please forgive me if I had recalled wrongly. I had never liked Sastera in the first place, yucks! The groom and the character shared the same name, hehehe!

I stared in awe, watching the live telecast of the Bersanding ceremony on TV3 last night. It would be an understatement if I said it was glitzy and glamourous. An elaborate event, completed with extensive decorations, graced by ROYALTIES, top notch politicians, veteran and popular local AND foreign celebrities, Class-A musicians, award winning producers, leading designers, nosey journalists, last but not least, the more insignificant group, much neglected by the media, family members and "nobody" friends.

Look at this...


This is a DREAM wedding that girls would undoubtly die for. The once in a lifetime chance to feel like a Princess, even if its just for a day. Okay, so maybe it's no longer a once in a lifetime chance with divorce and subsequent marriages being all the rage right now. Still, it doesn't diminish the spirits of future newly weds to create an event as extravagant as possible.

On Siti...
At first, I thought she was out of her mind/ possessed/ threatened into accepting Datuk K's marriage proposal. It took me this long to realise, that she was smarter beyond expectations. Let's do a post mortem to see what's in it for her.

- Cash, money, jewellery, properties, etc. from a loaded hubby! $$KACHING$$
- An extension to her already long name: DATIN Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin
- A dream wedding reception
- A revival of her popularity with the help of excessive publicity
- Free jewelleries, designer gowns and shoes, all sponsored by opportunistic moneymakers.
- becomes a new role model for girls everywhere to go after men for materialistic purposes.

There are more, I can assure you that. These few reasons are more than enough to convince any girl to look past the flaws of her fiance. Even if he's as dreadful looking as this:



He must've been thinking: "Hurry up and get this darned, overpriced ceremony over with. I can't wait to taste that sexy fresh meat tonight."

Why else would he be sulking on his wedding day?

He should be glad he managed to nail a girl like Siti. 20 years his junior, has a stunning silhoutte besides being very popular too. It shall be the envy of all men! No wonder he's willing to divorce his first wife, stuff her mouth full with several title deeds of the properties he now USED to own, and stand not being on good terms with his own flesh and blood. I can only be forced to conclude that this man is disloyal, anciently-aged, greedy, ugly, perverted and very much LOADED.


Dammit, he's supposed to look at the cameras and smile, not having fantasies of his brand new wife by staring at her with a slanted smile. HUMSUP!

She's just happened to be a very popular singer. I still do not understand why she deserved to have guests such as royalties (2 SULTANS okay?) and famed politicians (Deputy PM Najib and ex-PM Mahathir) and other VVVVVIPs to attend her wedding.

On another matter, a chinese daily recently reported that 1/3 of people who are eligible (sounded as if people submitted application for it) to be taxed on their income, did not fulfil their obligations to feed the government's bank account. You should be able to identify the envelope containing information on taxing because it is aptly printed "URUSAN SERI PADUKA BAGINDA". We all know part of the money goes to feeding and clothing our highnesses, The Malay RoyaltieS. And since, people are not paying up, while funds are leaked in forms of wastage and bribery (no need to wonder why people aren't willing to allow their hard earned dough to be given up to the authorities for management in such a manner), its no surprise that they decided to attend the wedding. They get FREE FOOD! (Maybe there isn't enough tax money allocated by the government to feed them the way they deserve to?) All they have to do is show up, to receive the best seats with the most scrumptious meal, presented to them.

Not forgetting all the hype about the event, as well as sponsorships. Allow me to repeat, she is JUST A SINGER getting married. Chances are that we'll see her get married again/ divorced. I don't see Datin Seri Endon Mahmood (for noobs out there, she's our PM, Abdullah's deceased wife) getting as much publicity for so many days, or sponsored designer coffins. Pah! Life ain't fair.

Oh yeah, I'm soooo not buying that love at first sight mumbo jumbo.

Note: I classify this entry as merely baseless assumptions from someone who does not know any better. Interpretations of a similar situation may vary from one to another. Please do not take this seriously, and don't sue me!

Un-Malaysian

Darn! It rained cats and dogs in Valencia. Don't get me wrong, I actually LOVE rainy days. Doesn't matter if I'm at home, or outside. Dancing in the rain and getting drenched IS fun... and some say sexy (I know I'm nowhere there), teeheehee~

It's only a bad thing when I'm at work. It means, less customers. That eventually translates into no company/ lonely + miserable day. In the end, I had to amuse myself the entire day. I finished a book, and several magazines. Heck, I was so darn desperate I read FHM (guys mag *gasp*), folded all the plastic bags, played kiddie blocks. There was absolutely no toilet visits. It would mean running through the rain to reach a blardy washroom. Repeat that on the way back. No way, I'm going to freeze to death in the shop! I allowed my bladder to exercise its elastic properties, till near breaking point. "Stop it already!" Then, as if my prayers were answered, it stopped. I fled to the loo, rushed through my "business", and sprinted back. Just in time before it started to rain again. Who says wishes don't come true? I witnessed a miracle! Heeheehee... Since my words worked, I decided to experiment again. I closed my eyes, and wished hard. "Beef-Pepperoni-Cheese-stuffed-Crust-with-Extra-Cheese-Pizza!"
*
*
*
Nothing happened. *sobs*

Too bad my "command" worked only for the first time. When it was time for me to cycle home, it showed no mercy. There was no signs of subsiding. Poor Bikey, it got abandoned by me, all alone on a moody weathered day. Sorry dear, had to rush home for my second job. I did come for you later on, didn't I? Promise you, I'll never leave your side EVER AGAIN.

On my car ride out to the shop to retrive my wheels, "Tanggal 31" was on air. I swear, that's the only song out there capable of bringing out that Merdeka Spirit. Others? Phooey! Not only did they sound tacky, it sounds 100% pathetic. The desperation to sing out the achievements we've churned out, when there is really nothing much to brag about. Sudirman's "Tanggal 31" captures the spirit of Merdeka PERFECTLY. I feel the enthusiasm, the pride, and the patriotism, all in one simple song, with minimal lyrics. The singer himself project his feelings through his voice. No stupid/ boring facts in a lifeless sing-a-long song, we so commonly hear on the telly. Sudirman ROX August 31st! Now, can someone tell me how to get that song outta my head?

From Kenny Sia's latest entry, I found something pretty amusing test. I thought you might want to check it out for a bit.

How UN-Malaysian am I ???

*drumroll please*

Congratulations ling, you are 53% not Malaysian.

That means you're as Malaysian as...


Guy Sebastian !

How Un-Malaysian Are You?

Eww... Guy Sebastian. That dude with burnt maggi mee for hair.

Valencia in the dark

Weirdness comes in many ways. In my case, it comes in the form of a liking. I am fond of walks at night. Especially when it's cool and breezy, a clear, starry night sky would be a bonus! The best part? The sound of crickets and other night creatures that come to life after the sun sets. I don't know about the rest of you, but I personally have a preference for darkness.

I took the oppurtunity to go do some exploring around the neighbourhood. Despite being a Valencia resident for nearly 9 months already, I did not know one road from another. (except for the ones leading to my house, heehee) And the road names are harder to memorise than the word "epidydimis".

Some shots of Valencia at night. Also trying to test my camera at night.


The view of the clubhouse from the golfcourse. Attempted several shots with its "Night Scenery" mode. Apparently, the end-results were rather poor. I suspect the mode caused a slow shutter response. With a less stable hand like mine, the shot ended up rather blurry. Even after the anti-shake function was activated. Hmmm...


The clubhouse from the Village Square. See the clock tower in both pictures? I thought that was a very tasteful touch added by Valencia Township & Developments. It doesn't chime like spooky grandfather clocks too =)


This is the road sign that visitors have to rely on. I'll admit that it isn't very helpful for first-time visitors. However, I will give it credit for its aesthetic value. It says:

NGP (North Golf Precinct)
Elitis Arca Belantara...

That's the road I live on. F**king long, ain't it? Told you I had a hard time memorising road names. It led to me dreading forms from the moment I realised I had to fill it with the new address. Also, what's with the "Belantara"? After briefly going through the form, one government servant once asked: "tempat yang kamu tinggal tu banyak pokok kah?"

Lookie who I found trying to cross the path at night!


Poor little thing. Must've been trying all day to get 3/4 across the pathway. Good news is, I have a sharp eye at night to not crush the little critter with my big feet. Gosh, I seriously hope I didn't blind it with my flash.

There's supposed to be another picture of a snake, rolled as flat as roti canai by some inconsiderate driver. On second thought, I decided to save everyone's appetite by keeping it to myself!

Peter Crouch

Since I started working at the florist, I have been addicted to it's supply of The Sun FREE newspapers. Basically, it's the only thing that keeps me company throughout the day. No wonder I've grown so attached to it that even on days when I'm not working, I must cycle my way there, just to get my copy. Seriously I'm so close to it I even read the classifieds, just to laugh at desperate people putting up ads to look for prospective partners, lol. As most of you already know, I'm a big fan of the sports section.

I present to you, The Sun's Sport Section on August 18th, 2006.


What do you see? CLICK TO ENLARGE.
I see a big red chicken flapping his feather-less wings with excitement when a 'button' between his legs is being pushed by a certain Monsieur Antzas. Just look at his face! A priceless expression, captured by a skillful photographer! A masterpiece, for sure!

Click

Wednesday was definitely one of the most happening days this entire break. I should've blogged this yesterday, but damn... the hangover came to haunt me early, I think.

The promotional posters look promising.
Reviews say its good.
Friends recommended it.
And so, I went for it.



Rating: 8.5 + 0.5(because of Kate) = 9.0

When I was getting the tickets, it was so funny. I showed him my student ID for the special rates. (Gotta make full use of student privileges while we still can!) GSC Mid Valley doesn't check for the expiry date of your card, YAY! But since I'm getting for my friend too (don't wanna interrupt people dating, how considerate of me! =D) I needed another ID. I did what every girl would do. Open eyes BIG BIG, make it watery, act innocent, said friend's being late, and look as if I really mean it. He smiled, and said, "Alright, only for you." It worked! No wait, it works. All the time. Provided the one serving me is a guy. Females are generally too strict for their own good. Haha! Its one of the advantages that comes with the gender. Nyek nyek nyek...

What can I say? The story, the casting, the acting... they're all like pieces of a puzzle, fitting together perfectly to create one hell of a picture.

I love Adam Sandler because of the flab flap, and torturing the O'Doyle kid.
I love Kate Beckinsale because she's oh-so-pretty.
I love the kids because they came up with a pizza room.
I love the dogs for the duck fuck incident.
I love the rest of the casts for being so 'yong sui'. That's Ammer and Janine.

While building up the plot, I laughed so much I nearly teared. Near the ending, it became so dramatically sad, my tear tap was turned on to the maximum. It was crazy! (evidence of quality acting)Thank God I wasn't there with a date. Speaking of which...

HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY ZHAN WEI!

So sorry you had to see me cry in the cinema, and you definitely deserved a better birthday. I would so much like to do something for you, noone makes my friend upset and gets away with it! But...sigh... Anyway, I do wish you all the best in everything that you do!

People are already 19, and I'm still 17...*grumbles* I wanna grow up!

At night, I attended a birthday party of one my new neighbours. They had SO MUCH
of my favourite food there! Fried chicken, sushi, pizza, mashed potato, loads of dessert and junk food... Holy cow! Calories baby, come to me! I couldn't stop stuffing my self with all that good food in sight, until Mr.Hong handed me a glass of wine. It wasn't red, it wasn't white. It's somewhere in between, and I had no idea what it was called. (inexperienced drinker here) That glass totally sent me straight to heaven. Glass after glass I went. The flavour only gets better with every sip. As if on cue, I turned as red as beetroot, so red even a tomato would look pale in my presence. The fact is, I wasn't drunk, it's just the blood circulating. I could still keep up with the conversation, tossing in some good arguments every now and then. Alcohol in moderation does wonders to one, ie: improve blood circulation, great for the heart (it's true) among others. 12-18% for wine IS moderation, and I ain't giving up drinking (only for shandies, wines and champagnes) for anyone. But of course, those with excessive alcohol content such as brandy ain't exactly my thing either, besides being The Liver Killer. Even Jesus turns water into wine. Wine drinking is no sin, but a pleasure of living! Never did understand why people want to keep their distance with such a wonderful drink.

"Life is to be enjoyed!" Mr.Hong said. Absolutely true. I couldn't have said it better. Simple as it is, not everyone out there is willing to make this choice. Toss all your worries into a stinking old bin, get started with optimism already! If not, go hide in some worm-hole and stop making everyone else's life miserable, just because you attention-deprived moron chooses to dwell in that pathetic state. And when you start rejecting people's caring efforts, you're lower than a retard.

Stars & Tau Foo Fah

Finally! I've got that wretched week behind my back. Words simply cannot describe the power of my anticipation for a brand new week. Common sense says that Sunday is the beginning of the week. To me, it has never been so. Being the traditionally narrow minded irritant that I am, I believe rewards/ relaxation/ fun, should come after work/ in the end. A firm believer in the chinese proverb:

先苦后甜
Translation: encounter the bitter, before the sweet. rewards come after hard work.

The weird programming that I have in my brains, is that I can almost delete all the nasty memories of the past week after Sunday is over. That leaves me with a squeaky clean start every Monday. Sweet, huh?

So here's Monday.

Woke up at a comfortable earthly hour of 9am to accompany mom to the Jabatan 'Something-Something'(I never get those horribly long, complicated sounding names, which I don't even bother to remember just because I think memorising lyrics are worth the brain-o-bytes more) to take care of the mind boggling procedures involved with my late granpa's pension. With Lady Luck by our side today, we met some pretty decent government servants. Helpful, polite, no airs, and none of the I-can't-be-bothered-by-your-troubles-as-I'm-rushing-to-punch-my-card-at-5pm-sharp attitude. Even the guard at the carpark was a professional. He knew we smelled like lost folks the moment he laid eyes on us.(excuse: my sense of direction has yet to mature) Lol, the sweet ol' thing even directed us all the way out of the ventilator-deprived basement car park. These are sincerely nice people. They speak decent, simple English too! I pity them having to work under such miserable conditions, making minimal wage, when so called 'graduates' are making the big bucks in a pretty, air-conditioned office on a landmark high-rise, playing solitaire on the company pc. And these lot can barely string a sentence without a single grammatical error. The difference? A piece of biodegradable paper with the word 'siswazah', and also the number of zeros on their paycheck.

That done, we headed to Jusco Metro Prima for my pre-hostel shopping. *cough* The way I dress at home, is absolutely illegal beyond the boundaries of my home. No, I mean it. Seriously. *cough* You know, the departmental stores usually have these very fancy hangers that holds even the most complicated piece of garment in place? So happened that I met a naughty cashier.

I was like : Psst...kak, yang tu boleh bagi tak?
And she was like: Shhh! *placed it in the bag in one sneaky move*

There! I accidently 'nicked' a hanger. Oops, hahaahaa...

My bro's studying at SJK Kepong 2, and we were to deliver him his lunch before he continues into the afternoon COMPULSORY tuition session. Chinese primary schools. Ahh... those good ol' work-load-full days, when I didn't even have time to think of other stuff that can possibly upset me. Heeheehee... Life was good. *nods* We parked some distance away, under some flats, and walks a short distance to the school. Then I saw it. TAU FOO FAH. My favourite dessert! 豆腐花！

Malaysian Food Guide for Dummies, says:
TAU FOO FAH:
Popular local chinese dessert. Consists of smooth and soft, white toufoo, served with diluted syrup.

Haven't eaten it in AGES. Mom doesn't buy it because she has developed an allergy towards toufoo products after her 4th pregnancy. But then, she said I probably loved it because she had loads of Tau Foo Fah while I was still floating in her womb. Some aunties said, it's because little me wants to eat it even before I was born. Lol, is there such a possibility? Doesn't matter. It's cheap, tasty, and healthy. Today's Tau Foo Fah tasted very sweet. I'm pretty sure it's not the sugar. *winkz* I totally did not expect 2 young dudes to sell Tau Foo Fah. One looked like he was in his early twenties, and the other, late teens, somewhere my age, I guess. The resemblance revealed that they are brothers. Both tall, maybe 1.78m, or taller, VERY courteous, and has dazzling smiles. I had my attention on the younger dude. While the elder one was preparing my Tau Foo Fah further away, we happened to be standing nearer to the younger dude. I glanced at some of the buns they had to offer. He started introducing some of the buns. I looked at him as he talked. Eye contact. Exchange of smiles. I shy away, and I think he did too. Along came a little boy, looking at the buns. I heard him asked the boy what he wanted in a funny way. Looking down at the little boy, I see a hungry look that wanted everything but knew he could not, very determined the make the best decision with his limited budget. The boy was kinda round (chubby lah) with big round glasses, sliding half-way down his nose. It was just hard to not chuckle. He looked at me when I did that, just when I looked up. Our eyes locked for a moment, then the smiles came again. Omigosh, I'm telling you it happened to me! It's not that I wanna 'yam' every guy I can get my hands (or rather, in this case, eyes) on. But, lol, just for fun, no harm done. Teeheehee~ We went on to hand over my bro's lunch, and he HAD to spill it. Drat! Luckily we had another spare packet of chicken rice in the car. While getting this second meal for my bro, my mom walked past the stall again. Those dudes were such charmers! They smiled and said something to my mom, which later left my mom grinning away. I thought, even aunties cannot escape their grasp. Lol. I stood beside the car, waiting for mom. Guess what? I noticed that younger dude turned to the direction where my mom walked from. He was looking at me! Immediately, I hid in the car. That's probably when we found out that the right rear tyre's punctured. Double Drat. I stared in disbelief when my mom sent me to ask the Tau Foo Fah dudes to help change the tyres. Thank god, one member of The Auntie Gang came to my rescue! She took us to a nearby mechanic to patch up that very nasty hole.

Okaaay. This entry seems abit too long huh? I need to sleep too, have got a shopping date with mom tomorrow. I shall end this quickly. The rest was the day was like...

Went to pick my sisters from SMK BUD2, shopped at One Utama, cursed those shops with 'S' sized items that are still too big for me. Tomorrow may go eat Tau Foo Fah again. Teeheehee... That's it. Heh Heh. Thank you. The End. Auf Wiedersehn.

Confessions of an Anxious Teen

I've waited more than 2 months. T-Gen says it'll be out by 12.00pm. Barely an hour to 12, the psychological effect itself was too overwhelming, to the extent that I doubted if my poor heart could take the heartrate. Walking into the grounds, every step was almost followed by an imaginary drumroll. Then, it's as if I'm a pin, being knocked down by a humungous bowling ball.

"Results will be released after 3.00pm "

I couldn't help but mutter a string of swear words under my breath. After some enquiry, it was known that our "beloved" Cambridge A Levels (CAL) directors are up and about doing their own business. To their delight and our dismay, the entire last semester's A2 population were put on hold, just because of 2 overgrown nutcases. I bet they must be sniggering somewhere, popping groundnuts into their mouths, watching the college being flooded by anxious students, laughing at the reactions of those who saw that ugly piece of paper, hastily stuck to the CAL office's door. They should be grateful that my large dose of anxiety had overcomed both anger and frustration. Or else, they'd be getting themselves a new door.

3 hours. That's pretty short when you're having fun. An eternity, when you want it to pass as quickly Father Time permits. Helplessly, we waited. Revisited good ol' Cafe Cabanna too. I can tell the aunty there misses the boy so much, unless of course, she's one of those touchy-feely type of person. Since Leong and Ming didn't mind being touched, who am I to say anything about it, eh? Lol, she's a sweet lady, still gave us student discounts! Although, technically speaking, we are not. No matter how much talking we fitted in between bites, our lunch lasted a mere hour. The remaining time was spent in Asia Club, inhaling deadly fumes, stinking my shirt and hair in the process.

Funny how I never thought about jostling and pushing everyone else, just to get to that miserable piece of slip. I could sniff the anxiousness in the air from a mile away. Sure enough, I wasn't ready. With IT in a trembling right hand, I can hardly make get my eyesballs to turn and look at it. Ming helped me see. Then, I saw. That's it. I went through so much, just for the millisecond my eye sends that speific impulse to my brain.

It wasn't spectacular, my results never were. I didn't expect it to either. In addition, my trials were downright horrible. What I saw was much better. Good enough to land me in my university of choice. However, my second scholarship eluded me by just that little bit. This is a better way of saying I've just thrown away RM 16,000. And oh, the guiltiness, the disappointment, and that lump in my throat. I would like to think that compared to the less fortunate, I should be more than satisfied with my current position. All I saw was the other part of the population, whose results made mine pale by far in comparison. It made me wonder WHY? Had I not done enough? What was it that I lacked?

Surprisingly, my parents didn't feel as bad. My dad even offered to buy me that phone I'm currently saving so hard for. Both are encouraging, and supportive. Gee, I wanted to hug them tight, cry, and say "I love you". But that'll be embarassing lah, heh heh. I know I have the best-est (the superlative of good, being superlated another level) parents in the world! I shall go to Nottingham, and study very very hard. A new goal is set. Master of Pharmacy, First Class Honours. Even if it means being boyfriend-less well into my 21st year. Yes, whatever it takes.

Meet Mr. GumNut

First things first, let me make something very clear. This post will be quite nonsensical. There's no point to it, and I do not intend it to be so. The sole purpose is that I think it deserves a place in the archives. Yes, it's that simple.

Remember those nursery rhymes that we used to hum before we met Avril Lavigne or Usher? Try to recall a specific one that goes...

Kookabura sits on the old gum tree...

Funny how I never, EVER, questioned anything about the old gum tree in that song. And I thought asking too much was my specialty back then. Hmmm... Forget that, for the mean time. The limelight belongs to the gum tree today.

Ahem, I proudly present to you, a branch of the gum tree. Courtesy of Purple Butterfly. (Read: the place where I work as a florist.)




GUMNUTS! That's what they're called. Those little blue thingies hanging on the branches. I could hardly believe it's a plant.

!!Recall Alert!!

*poke poke*
"Are these REAL plants?"
"Yes dear, those are Gumnuts. Smell them, they have a strong scent."
*more poke + sniffing*
*one nut fell off, I shove it into my pocket, and acted innocent*

Turns out that these are imported from Australia. In fact, there are so rare to find in Malaysia (because people don't order them), they cost a bomb! That skinny little stalk you see there in the photo, it costs RM 20!

When my bosses (man-boss & lady-boss) left, I took out that naughty little nut. On it, I performed some experiments of my own.

1. "scratch & sniff" test (inspired by JJ & Rudy).
Conclusion: hard surface, does not respond to scratching. Faint scent detected. Too faint to be identified.

2. Classic Poke Test
Conclusion: blade managed to overcome the hardness of the surface. Almost instantly, I sensed a strong minty smell, something like eucalyptus.



Boy, oh boy, oh boy! I love it. I don't really understand why she gave me that stalk. But she said, after drying it, I can use it as potpourri. She also suggested that I place them in the cupboard or anywhere I like. Soon, I might be able to walk around smelling like a Gumnut! Teeheehee~

The Lake House

Ultimate dame-ness. These two words basically concludes my little outing with Ken and Seetho.

Lol, but actually they're quite sweet, to accompany me watch The Lake House, starring the lovely Sandra "Buttock" Bullock, as my dad would fondly call her.



Yeah, I know, it's a romantic flick, and should be watched with a significant other. Believe it or not, I gave it a fair amount of thought. But, nah... No names popped into mind. Kinda sad, huh? Had to settle with two big babies... *smiles*

I arrived at the KTM station late. Poor Seetho had to wait for me, consequently missing the train. Felt terribly guilty, which worsened, when I had to ask him for change to buy my ticket. How could they close the man-operated counters??!! I'm not gonna be stupid enough to buy a RM 1.50 ticket, with a RM 10 note, then carry an extra load of Rm 8.50 worth of COINS! How come they don't have machines which provide change in notes too? I'm positive the rest of the commuting citizens would be more than grateful to have them around. And for that good deed today, Seetho, I award you 1st of August's Mr. Nice Guy, teeheehee~ Oh look, I'm whining about KTM again. It totally sucks that I have no choice but to rely on them so so much, just to get around. They'd better have something in the 9th Malaysia Plan to rectify this dreadful situation, if not providing a more tolerable alternative. Or else, I'll... I'll...*thinks long and hard*... I'll run for Presidency myself! Vote The Ling!

There I was, being traditionally late. This proves I'm a true Malaysian to the core, lol. The good news is, Ken was late too. Technically speaking, I saved some waiting-for-Ken time. Which makes being late a good thing =D but only in this case. We (me and Seetho) then scouted for Ken, with our evil horns almost protruding, ready to do some damage to his haircut. *Evil Laugh*, lucky for Ken his salon was so freaking hard to locate, that by the time we found him, his cut was already done. So much for annoying his stylist to boil over so that he shaves Ken bald instead. His hair is so flat before styling. So flat that if he dyed his hair to skin colour, you wouldn't notice that this dude is not a hairless "bak zham kai" (steamed white chicken). I suggested that he perm his hair, not the auntie style lah, I don't think I will ever stop laughing if he did that. Apparently Chris thought it was a good idea that can be done. Oh, did I mention his stylist, Chris, is kinda cute? Very different from the gay-natured male stylists that I had imagined. Everybody start imagining Ken with curly hair!

Later on, we carried on to the main highlight of the day (for Ken only) which is lunch at Madam Kwan's! Psst, that's where Xian's working as a waitress. Now you all understand ya? It's pretty dear, eating there. Over RM 10 for nasi lemak! Geez, what a rip off. How come some people are willing to pay that kind of money when they can easily get one wrapped in banana leaf for just 80 cents? Perhaps Mdm Kwan's have pretty looking waitresses like Xian? (unlike Esquire Kitchen, ewww...) I'd rather buy an 80 cents nasi lemak from the market, and donate the remaining 920 cents to charity. At least the food tastes good, and the service is efficient. A rather satisfying experience on the whole. There is one thing I have to point out though. I don't like waiters grabbing stuff from my table while I'm still occupying it, even if we're not using it. Let alone without permission. Hmm....

Alright, Ken saw Xian, he's a happy boy who's 'complete' now. The cinema's the next destination, to 'complete' me this time. Knowing there would be ads prior to the movie, we tried not to be punctual, without missing the movie. In spite of our best efforts, we have underestimated GSC's interest in making bucks out of advertising.My personal preference says a looong string of ads are just, plain frustrating. Trailers and teasers, would be different, teeheehee~ Right, the movie. I guess it'll be a bore for those whose "thing" does not include romance. The climax came kinda late. Besides that, it wasn't a breeze to understand the story, rather confusing even, with the time difference and everything. I am assuming these because Ken kept asking me questions about the movie, with yawns in between. You know those scenes we always see on soaps, where the girl gets cold, then the guy will instictively remove his jacket for her? No, it did not happen in the movie. Heh heh, it happened in real life, to me. In a, less romantic kind of way, lol. Out of habit, I would always bring along a jacket with me to the movies. Feels better to be cozy and comfy in my seat while enjoying the movie, you see. It's a safe option too, if you intend to avoid the above mentioned scene with any dates, or semi-strangers. What really happened was I noticed Seetho wouldnt stop rubbing himself, obvious signs of chill. *Sigh* Since I didn't feel too chilly, I offered him my jacket (already warm because I was using it). See? Girl offering it to a guy. Wow, talk about gender equality! I think I've just created an essential stepping stone for the female population in Malaysia. All I have to do now is, toss that particular piece of garment into the laundry basket to wash off the layer of dead skin cells that Seetho shed throughout his usage. Now, where did I place that bottle of Dettol?

Nandos+Focus Point+Pool+Movie=Sunday

Try to imagine the excitement I experienced on payday. The fate of a stack of cash *KACHING* in my hands. It's so tempting to use it up in a shopping mall, considering the fact that the Malaysian Mega Sale Carnival is on now! Hands slightly itchy. Must save it for phone. Phone Phone Phone. No shopping! Must..... resist.....

So anyway, I did use a part of it. Can't possibly keep them all to myself now, can I? Part of the joy comes from sharing. As I was in a nice mood, I treated the family to a big meal at Nando's. Barely our second visit, we were strangers to what they had to offer. Or rather, the size of what we were about to order. Naturally, there were over-ordering. Again, naturally, I have an extremely elastic stomach, along with ample space in my jeans for waist expansion. Goodie, teeheehee~ Maybe its because I'm paying for it with my own sweat and blood, there were zero tolerance with wastage. Also, to make the best outta every single cent, I think I stirred up some unwanted attention when my bowl made several trips to the all-you-can-eat soup pot. Don't understand why people are pointing and talking about it. I'm not greedy, just hungry. It's legal! Says so on the menu, kinda like challenging me to eat as much as I can. Never seen a skinny girl with a big appetite is it?! Ish...

Recently, I've been having problems with my eyes. I couldn't see close stuff clearly, but likewise cannot be said for further objects. Turned out that I had the wrong prescription for my contact lenses. *TooT* England Optical! This time I went to Focus Point. Yes, the one who has Amber Chia for a spokesmodel. I don't think I can stand another moment's worth of blindness anymore. There's enough bruises on me already. Anymore to the collection, and I shall refrain from wearing skirts/ shorts for the rest of my life. The results from the computer eye-test (nearly 100% accurate)



Guidelines: R-right, L-left, S-shortsightedness / myopia, C-astigmatism (is that how you spell it?)

This is the result slip printed by the machine. The ones written in blue are the prescriptions on my glasses, by England Optical Group. Compare them, see the difference?


A shot of my spec's casing.

Damn right I see the difference CLEARLY. Its CLEAR that you guys suck. And this time, I made sure I'm not going to be CLEARLY dumb to believe you guys anymore. I got a fresh supply of contact lenses from Focus Point, at a much cheaper price too! By RM25 for 3 month's worth. Much to my delight, the lenses are manufactured by a very well established company, "Bausch & Lomb". A reduced cost without compromising the quality! This good deal mentally therapeutic! Now you boys understand why females indulge in shopping, and pride themselves with bargains? If females are willing to put up with your football and drinking, you should bear with our shopping.

Here's shocking news. My brother, he's only 10 yrs old. But his myopia is at -5.00 for one eye, and -1.00 for the other. Don't gasp, it's true. He's got one incredibly lazy eye there. Doesn't wear his specs frequently too. I wonder how he can still walk around half blinded on one eye. Can anyone tell me how to deal with him? My dad's pissed, and my mom's well, pissed too, both are stubbornly not in the mood to do anything other than scolding (aah, so it IS in my genes). Help me to help him. I can't do it alone. He's just as hard headed as I am.

We were due to watch Dragon Tiger Gate afterwards. While my siblings are all below 18, I arranged for them to watch The Shoe Fairy (starring Vivian Hsu) instead. In the end, only 3 of us managed to watch DTG, my dad, my cousin bro-Yew, and me. Dad was still a Thundercloud when we entered. Freaking dangerous man! Guess what? They asked for my ID prior to entry. My cousin (21 yrs old), and my dad was exempted. I broke out in cold sweat instantly. I'm not legally 18 yet. Just to be safe, I showed him the 88, covering the 1204-XX-XXXX that followed. Can't wait till the day I can walk in a cinema a proud over-18. I'm gonna flash my ID at every single attendant in sight, as well as all those almost-18 out there. I'm 18! See that? It says I'm 18! Nyahaahaahaa~


Rating: 7.5

An hour and a half later, the storm was gone. I was pleasantly surprised by the generous dose of efficient action scenes, CGIs, and the capable casts. The storyline wasn't weak, no draggy moments. Best part is, not insanely long like POC 2. Despite enjoying the movie, I can't say I enjoyed sitting for so long without visiting the ladies'. There is however one irritating element in the entire comic adaptation. It brings me to annoyance when I see their face covered by their hair. Felt like jumping into the scene with a pair of scissors to snip those strands off! Most of the casts are sorta good looking, they shouldn't be hiding their faces and expressions. With exception to Donnie Yen, who's a great actor who happens to be the raisin among the non-wrinkly grapes. The hair obscuring the face worked wonders, only for him. Worth a watch. Definitely.

Following that, we proceeded to dinner. Someone suggested Esquire Kitchen, and there we were. I do not fancy that place. The food is pricey, yet it doesn't taste up to its price. Ambience? Not my favourite. Nothing spectacular, really. Ever wondered why you don't find table cloths on the tables in EK? Take a look at the green chequered uniforms the waitresses are wearing. The following is a conversation that took place. Identities are not revealed.

" Why are the waitresses wearing table cloths? They should take them off and lay them on the table. That should encourage more customers" *smirk*
" No way. The sight of the waitresses not wearing table cloths are gonna turn away all of the customers!"
*Takes a good look at the waitresses, and found that most of them are aunties who wouldn't survive a single second in a beauty pageant. The image of saggy assets comes to mind*
"Absolutely agreed." *shudders*

I wonder if the one in charged of staff management is blind.
Crime #1: Bad taste in uniforms.
Crime #2: Non-beauty queens for waitresses are okay. But those with looks that is capable of driving customers away? Bad business strategy.

Just when I thought the world has gone mad, the last German Grand Prix in Hockenheim proved otherwise.



Kimi Raikkonen of the Mclarens started race from POLE POSITION! That's his first this season. Personally, I feel that his MP4-21 has been obstructing him from showing his true potential on the circuits. It even cost him the Drivers Championship. Gah! He's his brilliant self today! Note how he overtakes Webber and Button, simply superb! He managed to salvage the last spot on the podium despite encountering technical difficulties (all the team's fault, not the driver!). There was a complication with tyre replacement, a slight hydraulic problem (I heard), time unreasonably consumed when refuelling at the pits, making 3 stops throughout the race. Besides that, it is observed that Bridgestone tyres have the advantage over Michelin ones in warmer weathers. Hence the 1-2 victory enjoyed by Ferrari. See what I mean? Kimi deserves so much more. MUAHAHAHA... Alonso drove so badly today. That should keep the cocky Spaniard grounded for a bit. It shows that his skills are not as good as everyone thinks, as they forget about the Renaults having a good car. If not for Fisichella, Alonso would've lost more than 6 points in his lead over Schumacher. Ahah! But all eyes are on Kimi now, the hottest F1 property with the top 3 car manufactureres dying to have him on their team next season. Who's the boss now, Alonso?

Relaxation Extreme!

"Ah moi.....! "

I hate these moments. You know some morons are asking for trouble. A sense of irritation brewed inside me. I glanced briefly in the direction where that call came from. And to do that, I turned my head to my right, then downwards.

A clique of teenagers that appears to be of Malay descend, squatting neatly in a row on the pavement, whistling and coaxing in my direction. Sigh... another bunch of good-for-nothings. I rolled my eyes and looked somewhere else, attempting to give them the idea that I'm not about to entertain them. Sure enough, they gave up pretty fast, for they soon realised they ain't gonna get the slightest bit of fun outta me.

Seriously, don't they have anything better to do? I find it so degrading that they are doing this to themselves. What benefits do they get outta this anyway? I'd sure like to know if there ARE any. Surely they can't fish a number like that? If they could the girl who gave it must've been devastatingly desperate. The sight of them is beyond annoying, besides being terribly embarassing. Several red haired angmohs never stopped staring. My instincts told me to crawl under the nearest bench to hide my face there. Sadly, the ostrich's method of "hide-my-head-in-the-sand-so-I-don't-see-anything-means-nothing's-happening" does not apply in reality. This is a common piece of Malaysian public I would love to blanco off with a large, stinky bucket of invisible paint. I bet if I had given them a good hard kick in the asses, forcing them onto the railway to be run over by the train, the huge crowded they would've have applauded me. Heck, I may even be conferred a title by some Malay royalty for Selfless Act of Public Service. (p/s: I want the YB Tan Sri title, Datuk sounds too old, Thank you.)

That, was on Saturday, on my way back from MidValley. I thought I felt exhausted, as I didn't felt as chatty and upbeat with my so called "date". In the end, I ended up at the florists having a lovely time chatting with the girl who covers the rest of the week. Ahh~ the wonderful talent we have embedded in our XX chromosomes. Girls can talk about absolutely anything, anywhere, anytime. This little trip to my workplace, has been rewarding. I left refreshed, rejuvenated, reenergised, and was given this free...



Looks too good to be eaten right? Yummie... CHOCOLATE cupcakes! For sale at the florists only on weekends, RM 2.50 a piece. Listen on, not only did I got these FOC, I even got another batch on Sunday! Imagine the satisfaction just indulging in those tempting looking treats all weekend. Sinking your teeth into fresh, chocolatey, soft, sweet, calorie-full little devils. Hmmm... heavenly!

"Chat & Eat Therapy" worked wonders, I tell you. I shed my weariness in the locker room for my swimsuit and into the pool I go. 10 continuous laps without losing my breath and no aches. The result is miraculous. To maximise my self-spoiling weekend, I pampered myself further. While I was in Mid Valley, I couldn't resist this...



Facial mask, at RM 5.90, plus 20% discount, suitable for 2 applications. What a deal! I've never been a big fuss with all this beauty thing, but it's an affordable luxury in this case. Try it! Chuck it in the fridge for about 30 minutes before slapping it onto your face. I don't particularly feel any drastic difference on my skin. Being the critically realistic hope-crusher that I am, I don't give a damn bout what they say on the back of the sachet. I regard those crap as bullshit. However, I must compliment its fragrance and the feeling it induces the moment it touches my skin. Smelt great, felt even better. Who cares if those masks don't do magic? This is the price I'm willing to pay for 20 minutes of bliss.

Felt ridiculously happy the rest of the day, smiling away for no apparent reason, looking extremely bonker-ish, like those you would find in psych wards. Didn't even throw a tantrum when I found out someone has been nipping away at one of my chocolate bars. I felt like, how could've I have been so weirdly happy? It's so fake, like I was on morphine, heroine, or whatever kind of drugs. But hey, I ain't complaining. Lol... No wait, I REALLY need to be put under 24/7 surveillance. Its abnormal behaviour we're talking about. I may have lost some screws out there this time, with the over-indulgence. Is spoiling myself badly a bad thing on its own, in the first place?

Revenge of the Sprinklers

Being a teenager... It's all about learning to get out of bed. Whether willingly, or rebeliously. When the sun rises, and not when it's about to set. With or without the infamous "5 more minutes, zzz..." mumble. Doesn't matter if you do it with 5 alarms or not.

I don't know what happened this morning. Did Mr.Sun crash onto the North Pole? Or Donald Trump go into bankruptcy? Maybe Casanova got resurrected? I actually woke up, all by myself, 5 minutes earlier than I should.

Wierdness, ain't it? But no matter. Since I'm up, I might as well go shower, surprise my bosses for once. Good idea? Nooo... Bad idea.

For those who don't know, I cycle to work. The journey's a joy every morning. I get to feast my eyes with gorgeous golfers greens (hopefully my blindness reduces with such large doses of the shade), find new "hi pals" in the regular joggers/ cyclists/ maintenance staff, even meeting some local birdies (I especially love Baldie, the BALD myna, lol, it never fails to meet me every morning). I though I knew every thing I had to know along my track... until this fateful day.

This is the first time I've out on the tracks so early. It was about 8.45am, I think. On both sides, are the grass lands dedicated to tee off-ers. What I'm cyling on, is actually the buggy track, no more than 5 feet wide. The sun was bright, the breeze cool, the grass green, Baldie as bald as ever... I was a happy girl, humming to my favourite Jim Brickman piece.

Ahem...

Oh my gawd, Jim Brickman is coming to town! Can you believe it? Jim Brickman okay? One of the greatest pianist EVER! Dear Mr.Brickman, sir, I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN!

Ahem, now that I've got it out of my system, let's continue.

The scene was like sooo perfect, but something just has to go wrong! Guess what? The sprinklers came to life! Must be some high end super efficient sprinklers there. They spray FAR and WIDE... even gardens nearby and the BUGGY TRACK was affected, although it is considered to have exceeded the bounds of where the grass is. GAH! What I encountered was nowhere near a sprinkle, nor a drizzle. The hell it's a SHOWER! I may not be familiar with how this sprinkler system works, but I'm undeniably not enjoying the extra shower all the way to the florists'. Must the sprinklers work for sooo long each time? Or some dude turned it on, on purpose? To make things worse, I didn't tie my hair as it was still damp from my shower (the one I had at home) and allowed it to fly behind me as I cycle, creating that dramatic scene we always see on the telly (with a cheerful melody), while hoping for it to dry. Lo and behold, I arrived to work semi-drenched. Patches of dark wet spots on my outfit, hair limp and wetter than before, out of breath as I pedalled with all my might, determined to get away from those dratted sprinklers ASAP. Thank God, I got there in one piece! One slip on the slippery path, and I could've fallen straight into the nearest pond.

I suspect it must've been that Indian maintenance tambi. A week ago, he was sweeping the buggy track when I came along. Please note that I AVOIDED him by cycling slightly onto the grass. So nice of me risk a slow, bumpy ride to save him the trouble of avoiding right? His jackass of a boss scolded him for not giving priority to the resident. Hello? Not my fault, I'm innocent! He gave me dirty looks everytime I see him afterwards. What kind of attitude is that? Ish! Thus, it is immensely likely that he has access to the sprinklers as its part of his maintenance job. Grrr... Yet, I have no evidence. Considering I had a reasonably good day at work today, I shall forgive him *beams*

Okay, I was just kidding. Chances are that the sprinklers are timed to operate at a certain time.

Lesson learnt. I will not be early anymore. Being early does not pay, plus being late is fashionable. So why bother?

My Virgin Attempt at a Chiffon

I'm slacking so much lately, I have stuff to blog about, and yet, there isn't enough motivation in me to get my effectors to work. Geez... Will someone please force me to do some work?

Yes, I am perfectly aware that the following is so horribly outdated. Anyway...

Kudos to Italy, the reigning Football Champion!

This shot is dedicated to their mind blowing success...



Courtesy of Leong. Nyahaahaahaa...this is football fever. The proud Italian flag, made of banana leaf (green), tissue that's stuck on the leaf with who-knows what (maybe someone's mucus), and curry that came with Leong's thosai. So what if we don't have an Italian flag to wave when the Italian dudes are high-ing about their victory, resulting in an abundance of ''Brokeback'' scenes (Shaun's idea), on television? We have an ''edible'' Italian flag on a shiny thosai plate to wave around with, LOL. It's one of a kind =P

On the controversy revolving Zidane's illustrious career, I have something to say about that. I admit that I wasn't overly upset over the football great receiving a red farewell gift from the referee, that's because I'm on the Italian's side. However, I did manage to observe some ridiculous attitudes from people, not just here, but world wide. This dramatic scene...



...sorta reminded me of Nicol David (our national squash champ)and the Brazilian football team, Ronaldinho especially. When these professionals are performing at their peak, winning tournaments, breaking records and so forth, everyone ADORES then. They get titles, cash, prizes, endorsement contracts, praises, publicity, blah blah blah. It's as though they are being worshipped as a God. That's fine. But when on one dark day, they just failed to shine like some super lightbulb. From then onwards, everything goes downhill... FAST. People get disappointed, thus lashing out harsh criticisms, insults, and blames these poor fellows. Come on, they ARE humans after all. They make mistakes, they experience being under the weather, they maybe unlucky, but they did NOT ask to perform badly. If given a choice, surely they wouldn't have chosen to disappoint the public? People should realise that the players themselves get upset too. By highlighting their faults on headlines as well as tarnishing their reputations in every way possible, isn't going to help at all. What's done is done. Bloody public you're just making the situation worse. You all are like daggers stabbing the already wounded players, literally forcing them out of their field. Is that how you treat a hero that once made all of you proud? What about all their previous hard earned achievements? All erased because of a casual, unintentional error? I scoff at the public's ungrateful demeanor. I wonder if anyone thought of nursing these embarassed professionals to rediscover their touch. For that, I believe that Zinedine Zidane deserves his Golden Ball award. This, from a non-France fan. In my opinion, Zidane did not deliberately knock Materazzi in the chest. Honestly, who would want to have head contact with a sweaty, stinky, sticky and dirty player? (hey, he might have BO too, for all you know), and a striking RED card on his last international appearance, with a big and shiny golden trophy that coincidently resembles his bald head at stake? I do believe that he has been provoked, and out of anger, the beast in him has been unleashed. Psychologically speaking, people do lose their heads for certain reasons. When that happens, the surge in emotions will trigger instinctive responses, similiar to reflexes. Even the trained will then be powerless to resist it. Obviously, Zidane is still upset about the ordeal. As an Italian fan, I still gotta say that I am ashamed that Materazzi did not show any signs of remorse.

Gosh, I'm still having football fever. Remind me the next time I start rambling about football again. F1 in Magny-Cours this weekend, wee~~

After a hectic week at work at the florist's, I'm super duper glad to have today off. I desperately tried to catch up on my sleep (still failing to break my personal sleeping record because I can't stand being hungry for so long). Since I've got so much time, I decided to embark on another culinary adventure! (pretend to be excited lah) There were several before, but I had not time to blog about it. Good news is, my previous attempt to bake Sheng a farewell cake turned out fine. Lol, he's still alive and should be in Australia by now. As for today, I tried my hand on something different. Tis, my mates, my virgin attempt at Citrus Chiffon Cake.

*drumroll please*



Anyone who's interested in a slice please visit me, lol. I guarantee personal nursing (by none other than moi) should anything happen to you while or after consumption. While stocks last! =P

A MidValley Megamall Adventure.

Today, I didn't watch a plane. I didn't watch a bird. I watched....

SUPERMAN! (returns...)



Warning: Spoilers follow. Read at your own risk.

Generally speaking, this will be among the shows I will not give a thumbs up for, nor recommend it to others. And yet, it is not exactly the type which I would advise people to save the 10 bucks for other purposes.

Predictability is probably its greatest weakness. The whole damsel in distress, evil mastermind attempts to control the world, a hero appears in time to save the day drama, is getting way too old. Or maybe it's because I'm the one whose getting old, old enough to find this drill no longer amusing. It's lame for heaven's sake! I don't know about you, but I absolutely detest seeing girls being stupid on screen. Personally, I would prefer Smallville's choice of cast and plot. For one, Smallville has a better looking Lex Luthor *wink winkz* That one hour of Smallville is definitely more worth watching as compared the movie which is in excess of 2 hours.

Let me first stress that I'm fully aware that it's a comic adaptation, with all these hocus pocus supernatural elements tagging along as a package. But basic logic? Did the director think audiences these days are that dumb? In that case, people, we're underestimated. Though not everyone may have high IQs, there are certainly somethings that even babies know that it doesn't make any sense. For instance, the scene where Superman gently floats downwards with the intention of spying on Lois' family. He's descending, hence, the cape should flap upwards, and not fall limply along his back, pointing downwards. Bad CGI. Also, bullets cannot penetrate The Man of Steel, right? I can perfectly understand Superman being bullet-proof and all, but his tight blue suit being bullet resistant too? Likely, if Superman used some high tech material for his outfit. Now if we fast forward to the scene where Lois tried to remove Kryptonite from his body, you'd probably notice that the scissors cut through Superman's suit to reveal some bare naked skin. Can anyone explain to me how is it remotely possible that the suit can be bullet-proof (I don't see any holes formed when Superman faced the machine gun) and yet be vulnerable to a pair of common scissors (operated by a woman of ordinary strength)? Common sense!

A sudden surge of inspiration in the middle of the movie (some scenes just make me yawn) lead me to two brand new theories to explain Superman's appearance.

Why does Superman's hair stay sleek and in place, especially that little curly cluster on his forehead, with so much flying and saving going on at the same time?

He's Superman. He's an alien, with alien organs behind those muscles. Chances are that he has some super-sebum glands on his scalp, functioning to furiously release enough oil to hold every single strand in place while Clark Kent changes into those blue tights. This should explain the super sleek hair-do everytime he's in that blue outfit. As for the no mess look maintained even on flights, those oil are likely to be hyper adhedsive too, to keep those strands from straying. I'm afraid I have yet to be able to explain that little curl. I'm guessing he did that with the help of saliva and a little twirl of his finger. Superman may just want to act cute like tawanese/ japanese bimbos too.

Why is Superman wearing his red underwear outside?

Superman is intent on creating a new trend, just because he's such a popular icon everywhere. He could be considering his own line of clothings for all we know. A less glamorous explaination would say that, since he's in such a hurry to change every single time, he just happens to forget that underwears belong inside, and not outside (Martha, you're not doing a good job at raising people's son, are you?) An even more ridiculous reason would be that, he wants all eyes fixated on that stikingly red area to show off the bulge. And while his nemesis is busy concentrating on somewhere else, the enemy is distracted, leaving the enemy more vulnerable to Superman's attacks.

Ingenious, I know. Thank you, thank you, I don't deserve the applause, really.

That's acceptable. Overall, the movie did fairly well, I guess. There were some unexpected twists and surprises (especially Jason!) along the way. Those being the only reasons I stayed till the end of the show.

Immense pangs of guilt now flood my heart. I have a confession to make. I ACCIDENTALLY molested a Hakka Ah Pek today. If given a choice, do ya seriously think I'd go molest some old man? Chris Pine from Princess Diaries 2 and Just My luck sounds more like a potential victim, heh heh *evil glint in the eye* Nah~ just kidding, I wouldn't like to molest anyone. Men, basically have nothing much to offer, in my opinion. Digression aside, the KTM was unsually congested, with people flooding the train from every single station. As each station passed, I felt the public closing in on me, to the extent of being too close for comfort. Eventually, I was forced to lean on a piece of glass for support, at the same time trying to avoid being too close to strangers. Too my distaste, it worsened. I had two big, burly, fat and hairy strangers with large beer bellies on both sides, with me sandwiched in between. They were so terribly close that if I had turned my head in either direction, I would be less than 2cm away from their chest. Ewww... they came with a hint of body odour (BO) too! *grumbles about my height under my breath* Then, *BUMP*, I lost my balance, I had to look for something to grip before I fall onto any one of those BO dudes (double eww). I reached behind to find something to grab, yay, I found one and regained my balance. But then it felt kinda odd. I took one look, gasped and let go. It was the hand of that Hakka Ah Pek who had been conversing loudly in his mother tongue all journey. Given that he's an Ah Pek, it's a forgivable offense. I apologised profusely, feeling sorta ashamed of myself, secretly praying that this is not one of those perverted Ah Pek who thought I was on to him or something. Thankfully for me, he gave a shy shrug and turned away. WHEW! what a relief! Expectedly, the rest ride wasn't all that smooth. Clinging onto the sides of that piece of glass wasn't the most comfortable thing to do, but it's miles better than molesting another by accident! Sheesh, I can't seem to be able to wash that thought outta my brain. It's rather disturbing having that awkward moment to replay over and over again in my brain. Argh, these are times when I just wish that my memory sucked.

Being Part of Working Class

I'm a Desperate Teenager.
Unless my insatiable hunger for this black beauty is fulfiled.



Incredibly sexy, no?

The great lengths I have undertaken to realise this vision of mine include getting my arse to work the hours. Not just one job, heck no, that's not enough. There're two.

Having been through the early stages of these jobs, I thought it'd only be appropriate that I blog about it. It rightfully deserves a spot in the Ling-O-Logy archives. So, here goes...

The Classifieds section the The Star was the one which brought me hope *eyes gleaming with tears and light radiating from my copy of The Star newspaper*... I had my heart set on a teaching job, but somehow an ad for a florist appealed to me even more. In the end, I got it! And for that, I have to thank a certain person who stood me up last thursday. That allowed me to attend the interview that day! What are the odds?

What can I say? My bosses are such darlings! And I totally love them. They took such good care of me, besides being extremely patient teaching a noob how to do flower arrangements, corsages, bouquets, ribbons and etc. Courses like these costs a fortune outside, and I get paid while learning? I think I've just hit a jackpot. 3 days a week, 9 hours a day, with moderate customer turnout rate, it's the perfect one for me. Bonuses include knowing some taitais, datuks, basically the rest of the neighbourhood and adorable caucasian kids! Oh, and did I mention Suan and Lawrence were such amiable people who gave me toys, cupcakes and roses too? Boy, though the wage isn't alot, I sure ain't regretting this! Alot of effort have been invested in this job. For instance, tangling all my fingers together trying to create that ribbon, instead of knotting them together, waking up early, forcing rusty leg muscles to cycle my lazy bum there, struggling to keep those dratted eyelids from coming into contact with each other and more which, I can't recall in the mean time. I'm brain juice deprived.

My pretty little workplace...

And look, the cash register! I now know how to use the cash register! Yay, me!

I'm afraid to say I don't have any photographs to show off my teaching "flair". First off, little Miss Tuition Teacher here wants to minimise the intimidation factor in class. (Although, I have no idea in what ways do a short, slender, and wacky me seem intimidating.) And by aiming a camera at the girls, followed by some furious snapping wouldn't help at all. Other than the fact that my room=classroom is a huge mess on its own, my camera has run out of memory. Lol. Mental note to self: cut down on the cam-whoring. See? I'm being such a considerate and caring young educator, LOL. Who else wants to hire me?

My weekends for this week, I'm proud to say they are comfortably occupied. Hurray for the revival of my social life! No more self-glueing my bum to my chair, while disintergrating in front of Zeus, my computer. No more sleeping more than 12 hours a day just because I'm so pathetic that I really have nothing else to do. I hope that Portugal will experience a revival to victory tonight too! Go Portugal tonight, Go Italy on Sunday night! Screw Germany (the germs), Screw France (the ancient-aged)!