Kuching Trip - 2008 (Day 3)

Day 3 was filled with activity from the time we wake up. Early in the morning, we join a tour "group" consisting of a family of 6 (3 girls, dad, mum & granny) who came from (surprise, surprise) KL & a couple (whose girlfriend who wear highly inappropriate dress with spaghetti straps & stilettos type strappy high-heels!).

First stop was to the Sarawak Cultural Village. Fortunately the weather was good... Not too hot or wet. It was a good visit as we get to know the many different tribes in Sarawak, their cultures, customs, the house that they live in, their music etc etc. It consist of several traditional building of the various tribes / races in Sarawak (including Malay & Chinese - go figure!) built around a lake. I can't remember the name of the tribe, but the house I found most fascinating is the one built more than 3 storeys above ground. The "stilts" that supports the house are actually a whole tree trunk of hardwood (balak) & the joints are actually carved & pieced together like a LEGO set - quite an engineering feat! I really wished I have the pictures now to upload here... Will try my best... Anyways it was amazing! We finished the trip around the lake & ended in a theatre watching a cultural performance of traditional music, dance & even martial arts from the variance tribes in Sarawak. The performance was really good & quite professionally done up. The only irritating thing was the "Narrator" or MC for the whole show was trying too hard to speak in accented "Mat Salleh" English that I didn't catch a single word he uttered! Only "Velcome! to Ser-raw-wek Cul-thu-rel Vil-lage... ashsher.. resher..shawer... bla...bla..bla.." Goodness! I was embarrassed. Why can't we just stick to our Manglish. At least the foreigners can still understand that.... :-p

Sadly, we then have to move to our next destination - Semenggoh Orang Utan Sanctuary (hope I spelled the name right...). There were many Orang Utans & mostly were on the trees swinging from branch to branch. There's even a mother & child Orang Utan among those that appear around the observation deck. Can't help comparing to the Bohorok Orang Utan Sanctuary near Medan, Indonesia though. There were more & the surrounding area is beautiful. There's also a guide explaining on the stages / process an orang utan had to go through to reacquaint to the wildlife & sadly how some did not survive the trauma of abuse in the hands of their captor & thus had to remain in captivity for the rest of their lives. Wish we had that in Semenggoh, but no.... no guided tour... but I love the boards where it had the names of the Orang Utans & their offsprings, Date of Birth, where were they "found" etc & pictures with their names underneath. The funniest of all, I heard a tourist exclaimed "Poor monkey to be called that, especially when it's a girl!..." when he saw a picture of a female Orang Utan named "Saddam"! hahahaha......

After that it's back to the hotel, but not before visiting the nice seafood place we went on day 2! Can't get enugh of the cheap lobsters! :-p

That concludes the end of our trip & the next day was just packing up to leave for the airport. Oh but would like to mention that we took Chinese Wine MeeSuah & Kolok Mee (it's actually our dry wantan mee) for breakfast - it was superb. Especially the Mee Suah - not to mention the cheap prices. Coffee is lousy though. 1 other comment, I've not found a single restaurant in Kuching so far who has good quality soya sauce. All of them are so dark & salty - tasting like salted black ink water - with some strange residue at the bottom. Avoid them like the plague!

Kuching Trip - 2008 (Day 2)

Not much happened in Day 2 as we pretty much covered Kuching in Day 1. We wanted to visit Fort Margherita but the weather wasn't letting up. It has been cloudy, drizzling, raining & back to cloudy almost 24-7, which made walking quite depressing. So we decided against taking the "ikan bilis" sized boat across river just to look at a Fort. I had Fort Cornwallis back home - belief tht is good enough & even then I didn't pay it much attention... :-p

We explored the "Chinatown" of Kuching & sample their local cuisine - Sarawak Laksa, Kolo Mee (which is pretty similar to Pen. M'sia "KonLou Meen" aka Dry Wantan Mee (without the Wantan), Chinese Wine Meen Seen, breads, biscuits, pau & many more (not all in 1 seating mind you - that is throughout the day lar....). We also took some pictures of the "Single" cat monument that is located right at the end (or the start - depending on which direction your coming from) of Chinatown. Behind the cat statue is a huge gate with Chinese roofing & Chinese characters.

Out of boredom, we decided to walk along the river again & decide where it leads us. We came to a squarish building which looks like a section of a tower to a castle... can't remember the name of the place, but it is directly beside the river & houses the artwork of a popular local native artist who made it big around tht region. In general we just took pictures of anything & everything that caught our fancy, even if it's an ugly looking "dragon" look-alike that is suppose to spout water.

Then we went to explore the bazaar again just to snoop around for good local handicraft (though nothing is cheap nowadays. My last trip a few years back were definitely more affordable) & book ourselves a day trip to cover the not to be missed Sarawak Cultural Village & Semenggor Orang Utan Sanctuary.

The highlight of the day is surprisingly - dinner! We took friends recommendation & headed to a restaurant; which according to their combined description 'is located at the roof-top of a 4-storey carpark near Hilton hotel, directly opposite Tun Jugah Plaza'. The restaurant displays an array of fresh seafood, vegetables & many of other choice foodstuff over a multi-level display counter & the customers get to pick & choose the seafood / vegetable they want, tell the order takers how they want it cook & walla! meal is served. The food is really fresh & really value for money (by Pen. M'sia standard. Not sure if it's still the case for the East M'sians). The fresh fruit juice is so fresh & tasty even without sugar that we feel quenched after downing a glass.

As we moved to a "cheaper" hotel (compared to Hilton), we had to make the long trek home (cos' hubby is cheapskate enough not to pay RM10 for a taxi ride because it was less than 5km distance). Reached home feeling tired to the bone & slept like a baby after a nice warm shower.

Kuching Trip - 2008 (Day 1)

Actually I went there like a month ago? but I tot I wanna wait for the photos to be downloaded into the PC to upload into the blog before I write anything... but after 1-mth I thought "It's going to be the New Year if I wait for that!". So here's the story now.

Hubby was sent to Kuching for some learning session for 1 whole week & I have earlier taken leave on Friday of the same week! So we decided that I should join him in Kuching on Friday & extend our stay till Sunday. If I remember correctly, Monday was a Public Holiday, so we use tht day to "recover" from our trip. ;-)

Flew to Kuching by AirAsia which is cheaper than MAS, but could have gotten cheaper tickets if we were informed much earlier of his trip. Reached Kuching at around 9+am & took a taxi to Hilton (where hubby is staying) - 1st thing we did was to find another hotel to move to cos' it's pointless to pay for Hilton when we'll only be in the hotel room for about 10hrs a day max (most of it sleeping time). Then was poring through all the print outs from the internet on places to visit in Kuching to plan where to go for the next few days. Decided to cover the riverfront area, since Hilton is so strategically located near the Kuching riverfront.

On the way to the river, we came across the infamous Cat statue. However this Cat "monument" has a pair of feline surrounded by kittens instead of the single white cat with 1 outstretched paw in greeting that we normally see in travel brochures. I was then informed by hubby (who got this info fr his Kuching colleagues) tht there were actually 2 main Cat monuments. 1 is tht "famous" single cat & the other is this. Apparently, the Kuching town is "split" into 2. 1 part was previously managed by a Chinese guy & the other a Malay / Sarawak Bumiputera (can't remember which). The Chinese guy was single (reason given was to take care of his ailing dad & fully serve the ppl - uhuh... yeah... we belief tht...); thus the single white cat at the Kuching Chinatown gate overlooking a HUGE roundabout (Sarawak has large land area - can afford massive roundabouts... :-p). The Malay / Bumiputera however is married with many children; thus the pair of cats surrounded by kittens in the other end of town. So there you have it, the Kuching Cat Monument "mystery" unravelled. How true is the story? Dunno... Trust the locals...

Next, comes the infamous Kuching Riverfront - nothing much... There's a huge boulevard for walking, lots of stalls but not open & the river, like any other rivers in Malaysia, it's 'teh tarik' colour. The only difference is it's HUGE! A stroll along the river is quite nice though. The trees shaded most of the way, tht made the walk a cooling & relaxing treat.

Towards a bent of the river, there's a white & pink building (yes... pink! reminds me of a building that you might see in Legally Blond) that is apparently housing the Chinese History Museum (watdayaknow...)! Unfortunately it was closed for lunch, so we strolled to the most talked about temple in Kuching - situated just opposite the Museum. It's called the "Tua Pek Kong" temple. It's small, but the architecture & carvings are beautiful / delicate. Was told that the temple is about 100+ years old, but the fresh coat of paint & the chandelier lightings made it look rather new. Can't help feeling that I would prefer to have it in it's original splendour even if it has peeling paints & candles all over the place. No disrespect intended, but having it refurbished made it look like an old woman on Botox & thick make-up. I don't mind a bit of paintwork to avoid the wood-decay (because the pillars & the beams - the whole structure in fact are made of solid 1 whole tree trunk hardwood), but the new coat of paint made it really shining red brand new. It's beautiful nevertheless & I took lotsa photos at tht place. Will upload into the blog (if I ever got it transfered fr my camera!).

When the museum is finally open, we spent about an hour there reading about the Chinese migration to Sarawak, the trading / business / plantation activities they involve in, the famous Chinese figures in early Kuching society & their rise to power, fame & fortune. There were also many ceramic everyday pots, plates, bowls, urinary, "pillow" (yeap! ceramic pillows) & figurines on display. I really love 2 figurine of an emperor & empress made of total white ceramic with intricate carving designs. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures; otherwise would love to take a pix of tht.

We then continue to walk along the famous Kuching Riverfront Bazaar that has many local arts & crafts stores, stores selling local produce - black pepper of course. Managed to refraint from buying anything expensive (the beads were not as cheap as it used to), but still managed to pick up some bargain stuff :
1) wooden ladle (good for my non stick pan. The plastic 1 I had is "melting" at the tip. Don't wanna poison hubby wif platic / melamine material)
2) black pepper (of course)
3) 6-pocket letter holder cos' the letter holder at my in-law's house is really in a sorry state...
4) beaded bracelets for the small girls back home (my nieces & cousins)
5) 2 HUGE pandanus-family-dried-leaves woven bags (only RM10/piece! Bought 2 for our grocery shopping to substitute the plastics - go green!)
All-in-all, thought that was very good shopping restraint! ;-p

Ahhh.... Back to hotel to rest... Will share day 2 onwards & maybe an article dedicated to the food we ate in Kuching... when I'm free next...

The Day the Earth Stood Still Review

After the Away Day, hubby dearest fetched me from Shell Hse (took the company chartered bus back to office cos' he didn't know Putrajaya tht well) & we decided to catch a movie at Cineleisure Damansara (thanks to OCBC Titanium card tht offers Buy-1, Free-1 movie tickets, we became "regulars" there).

Not having much choices (me hating horrors & hubby hating cartoons), we finally settled for "The Day the Earth Stood Still" staring Keanu Reeves.

In summary, it abt this Aliens that are from a more advanced civilization than ours. They sent some "spy" in the form of a Chinese guy some 60-70 years ago to assess the human species & found tht we're really a "spoilt-rotten" race cos' we take-take-take & leave Mother Nature raped & ravaged. Not caring for the survival of other species / planet earth itself. In essence, it's saying - "If the humans live on, Earth will be ruined & it'll be the end for the diverse life-forms on this planet; but if the humans are elliminated, the planet will survive & so will the unique ecosystem it supports". So the civilized aliens decides to "elliminate" the human race & all it's creations - buildings, vehicle, cities etc.

As usual, when it comes to catastrophy movies, the US Government & their Ministers are potrayed to be brainless, trigger-happy, stubborn bunch of ppl who insists on attacking the UFO despite acknowledging tht they are more advanced being that can easily render the most advanced weaponry useless; which further validates the conviction that the human race is really 1 lousy bunch of ppl not worth keeping.

And as usual, a scientist managed to convince the Alien rep (Keanu Reeves) that we're not tht bad afterall & tht we will learn our lesson. So, he/it managed to stop any further destruction from happening. At the point when he did tht, the Earth / time practically stopped - thus the name of the movie.

Ok lar if we don't over-analyse the movie... Only comment - how will we learn our lesson, when the Aliens stopped the "ellimination" & left without leaving a message / mandating that the human race should turn over a new leaf or else....... Trust the potrayed to be dumbass government officials to do tht? I don't think so.....

So, we can expect a secual cos' we never learn.... hahahahaha......

Finance Away Day 2008 - Putrajaya

I always have mixed reactions whenever the company organizes an Away Day.

Wary cos' I such outings can be quite political... i.e. people trying to show tht they have teamwork / leadership qualities in front of their bosses. Activities / "games" ended being a competition to show who's best & some might end up making the experience horrifying when they turn into "mini-Hitler" on a misguided impression tht it is "Leadership" qualities...

Dread cos' the teambuilding sessions can be quite taxing & God knows I have not been exercising / not fit to endure an "Amazing Race" style teambuilding activity.

Fear in case we're paired with a "Room-mate from Hell". Some of us had tht horrible experience last year & the year before.

Fortunately, this year is rather pleasant...

First off, the Dinner. Rather than having difficult themes like "Tribal" / "Vegas" / "Oscars night", where ppl spend hundreds on a rental just to look good / fit the theme, this year it is "Traditional Costume tht is not of your own race". Great! I have a Philipino blouse called a "Saya" tht I've been dying to wear but have not found the occasion to. I bought it during my last trip to Manila when I was on business trip. It's made of Banana Fibre & is semi transparent - the more famous kin of this costume is the men's version called the "Barong". Am suppose to wear a white camisole underneath & pair the blouse with a long black skirt. Unfortunately I don't have a white camisole, so I had to settle with a black one, but looking at it, it still works. The really traditional version is actually made out of pineapple fibre, but was advised by my Philipino colleagues to avoid tht cos' it tends to be rough & irritates the skin. Bought a matching Barong for hubby dearest too on tht trip. Didn't expect to win "Best Dressed" / anything, but it's the first time tht I followed the theme.... :-p

Secondly, the activities were not as strenuous as before (or so I thought... had aching shoulders & aching tummy throughout the weekend from doing 20 x push-ups & 20 x sit-ups). It was scary at first cos' the facilitators were from a company called "The Jungle People" & as they said "Cos' it's a Jungle out there"... You Bet!!! It was rather fun in fact & more meaningful / insightful. I was nervous though when we were asked to make a "self-propelling vehicle" out of a limited number of stuff (the usual - straws / satay sticks / cardboards / balloons / rubberbands etc)... I was like "Hello! We're Finance ppl... not engineers... How would I know how to make a self propelling "vehicle" tht doesn't involve pushing / pulling / using a slingshot (unless the slingshot is in-built on the "vehicle)! The key word here is "Self-Propelled". Irregardless, it was all good fun & we did have a number of "vehicles" tht actually can move a foot or 2 (though, we do have many more tht did not move at all)... :-)

Lastly, I was paired with Storm! Which, although was a relieve, but maybe not a very good idea... We ended talking & talking till 3+am & we had to wake up at 6+am!

I chose to stay back & enjoy the hotel room cos' I juzz didn't like getting drunk when I know I have to attend many activities the following day - end up watching Norbit on telly. While Storm went out to "party". She came back rather drunk but we chatted as we usually do. Somehow, the conversation turned towards serious stuff like Lubs business / Product Costing / Pricing etc-etc... I was surprised wondering since when Storm talks about work after work? Then I thought, maybe she just wanted to tap on my past experience... ok... layan lar...

When she's sober the next day, she said - "Eh! Did I ask you about lubs stuff & work last night? I must be really drunk! I remembered asking you about work, but for the life of me I don't know why I did that!"... Well she better remember what I told her, cos' I sure won't repeat that "tutorial"!!

Super Early Christmas Party

During the last Raya Haji long weekend, my hubby's eldest sis suggested to hold an early (very-very early *wink*) Christmas party because most of the family members will be away travelling / holidaying during the long Christmas break.

She told us it'll be potluck!

My greatest NIGHTMARE! HORRORS of HORRORS! My cooking can never meet the mark of my collective in-laws! They're Super Cooks.... & I'm d lousy 1... & my hubby had to put up with it :-p

OMG! OMG! What to cook! What to cook!
Pumpkin cream soup - I've done tht
Steaks - they don't take beef
Ox-tail soup - again no beef
Lamb / Mutton - they don't like the smell
Carbonara Pasta - that's not party food!
Lemon Chilled Cheese Cake - someone's buying cake oledi

Finally I decided to make maki sushi (no... I'm not scolding - aka maki, the sushi... It's a type of sushi... you put Japanese vinegered rice on a sheet of seaweed, some savouries in the middle, roll them up & slice them to get finger-food sized sushi). Though I've done it before... but what the heck... Sure is easier than trying to bring a pot full of soup! Besides, they already have curry in the menu. If I bring along pumpkin soup, they'll be filled with water!

Surprisingly the sushi was almost demolished (with 1.5 rolls left out of 11 rolls made)... phew... less embarrassing vs having 10 rolls left behind (1 roll for the failed taste buds trial)!

We also had homemade crispy pork courtesy of my hubby's eldest brother 1st trial... If not for the over seasoning of salt, the pork skin was really crispy & nice! (sorry Gangsta Mama - sensor... sensor...)

After dinner, I got my hubby to adorn the Santa's hat & distribute gifts to the children... Oh they were ecstatic (except the youngest mite who's terribly afraid of my hubby's size & his love for hugging & kissing them on the cheek - stubble & all!). That's when the party had to take a down turn when someone just had to say "eh... u better get a kid of your own soon or else you'll continue to lose out... all output no input"

Grrrrr...... Firstly - Show off!!! I know lar he/she got a baby of their own already! Do they need to rub salt in my / our wound ALL the time at every occasion that I tend to dread family gatherings! Pls be sensitive & remember the time when they still had not had 1 yet after many years of marriage. The tears they shed every time the spot of blood comes to visit every month. We're going through that stage now OK! So insensitive!

Secondly - Christmas is a season of GIVING... I'm not expecting anything in return... As long as the kids are happy, my heart soars with them. The delight on their little cute faces is more than enough to "compensate".

Fortunately, I didn't need to bear that for long though cos' soon after someone suggested watching a movie on DVD (Transporter 3), so we all adjourned in the mini "theatre" & that concludes the party.

Overall it was fun & fortunately less stressful than most of the other occasions (at least the "baby" subject did not turn up as often as usual)...

Transporter 3 - A Surprising Treat

Went to watch Transporter 3 recently & was pleasantly surprised. It was really good & hubby dearest enjoyed it so much he watch it again on DVD! - His brother bought a pirated version which wasn't tht good cos' we can't hear the conversation on most parts & the English translation was just ridiculous - as bad as the "lonely girl seeks company of vegetable" type of quality.

The fight scenes are definitely better than James Bond.
The car is cooler - Audi vs. Aston Martin? (come on.... no match man!....)
The gadgets more interesting (75 feet away from the car & kaboom!)
The storyline - more interesting
The hero - both balding, but Jason Statham looks more muscular, well built & cool fighting style vs. Daniel Craig - errmmmhh....
The heroinne - both not beautiful... Prefer agent Fields... or Storm... *wink*

Overall, a worthwhile watch...

Madagascar 2

Went to watch Madagascar 2 recently. The teasers were damn funny & some parts are also ok-ok funny lar... but other than that, it was just "normal".

Probably was expecting a bit too much.

hmmm.... what to watch next? Ms Storm advised not to watch "Tropical Thunder" cos' she had DVD of it.... Don't seem to have much left to see then....

The "Igor" cartoon movie is in the movies, but after the slight disappointment in Madagascar 2 (& the fact tht I dragged a very reluctant hubby to the cinema for tht), I daren't suggest another cartoon...

Oh well... might just settle with watching some old DVDs favourites in the comfort of our own home...

Sigh.... why is 5pm taking so long to arrive.... Classic Friday distractions.

Back to work....

'A' for Aliens, 'A' for Anniversary

I was having a tough time figuring out what to get for my hubby for our 4th Wedding Anniversary. The normal tie / pen doesn't work cos' he works in the refinery! He doesn't need a tie / a fancy pen...
wallet - he has 2 (1 using & 1 in the drawer)
belt - he has lots (bought during our trip to Chiang Mai)
shoes - a boot full
sandals - 1 will suffice for him
perfume - for a guy who says "natural sweat smell is manly"? I don't think so.....
leather jacket - I can't even get him on long sleeve / long pants... I doubt he'll ever use the jacket
cufflinks - to be used for his refinery safety jacket? hmmm.....

Aaahhhhh....... What do I get for him?!?!

Then a spark of inspiration hit me... I came across a shop in Berjaya Times Square selling collection items for all sorts of action figures. Most importantly, they are cheaper than the other shops I've come across. Cool.... I know he'd love it!

StarWars - nah.... he's not a fan

Indiana Jones - he likes the movie, but Harrison Ford action figure doesn't look cool enough

Terminator - another of hubby's favourite but it's the human version.... I want the "naked" terminator. Errr.... I mean terminator where you can see the robot inside... not the naked Arnold - puhleeezzzzz.....

Then.... aha! Alien vs. Predator! Lovely.......
The Aliens are damn ugly but cool.... you can see the sinews of the alien muscle, bone structures, odd shaped head - all in all, very detailed / intricate figurine...
The Predator is just as ugly if not worse... but juzz as cool...

Problem - There are at least 3 versions of Predators, 2 versions of Aliens & 1 what the shopkeeper call as "Predalion" - apparently it's the hybrid of Aliens vs Predator (you'll be shocked to find out tht the shopkeeper who tells me this is an auntie with a late 20's / early 30's son!)

Errr.... am no AVP expert... I cringe / close my eyes at least 50% of the whole movie (or rather a series of them)! I'll accept the "expert's" advise on what is alien / predator / predalien (although she's in the form of an auntie around my mother's age!)

What did I finally buy?
1 x 18" Alien
1 x smaller (can't remember d dimension) Alien
1 x Predator (same size as the small alien)
1 x Predalien (same size as the small alien)
though the poor predator will be surrounded by aliens, but can't help it! The Aliens looked so much Cooler....

I know my mum-in-law will freak if she sees this gift (she's alwiz saying tht looking at ugly stuff especially when you're pregnant - the baby will look like tht ugly stuff... Baby Alien spawned by a Human? yikes!). Let's hope it not the case.... (if I ever get pregnant...)

"Royalty" treatment for Public "Servants"

It irks me every time when I have to move aside to give way when I heard a siren - thinking that someone might be critically ill / there's an emergency somewhere - only to find out that I'm giving way to some politician! What's worse, his / her outriders can be a mile long before he / she arrives.

As if their time is more precious than mine. Hello!.... I'm the tax payer here! They're my "employees" (ok.... I won't use "servants" I'm a kind employer), getting paid by "MY" tax contribution... What are they doing wasting my hard earned money! We pay our taxes to have police on the streets to keep our city safe! Not used to "clear the road" for an "employee" of the "Malaysian-Tax-Paying-Citizens"!

If they need to get to a meeting venue & KL is always jammed - then improve the traffic system! No wonder our politicians is always "disillusioned" that our road system is well and fine. They never need to sit in a jam for 2 hours just to get to a place that normally takes 15mins!

If the public transport is the way to go to reduce the number of cars on the road; hence reduce jam - try taking the commuter! It's jammed pack like sardines! If you can't enter the current 1, you'll have to wait for 18-20 freaking minutes! Add that waiting time with the travelling time - what's the difference to sitting in a jam? At least I get to reach right at my destination doorstep & not some train station that will require another wait for a feeder bus / taxi to bring me to the exact location I need to get to.

Why is this "Employer" feeling like a "Slave" to the "Employee"? Ever wonder if this could be the reason for the bad election results?

I wish someone among the "Employees" will just "Wake Up!" & stop the nonsense / energy spent making petty remarks / police reports / suing each other for some statement like :
"prison food is like dog food"
"Chinese can go back to China if they're not happy!"
"Chinese & Indians only 'tumpang' in Malaysia"
"having translated street names is not showing respect to the National Language"

Come on... There are more important tasks to do than squander it on non-public-benefiting activities (yea... the only benefit fr the squables are the laughs we get from the silly remarks thrown between many very mature adults)

Make me feel that whatever I pay in my tax is worth it, then you get my vote! Squander it, I'll give my votes too... Out....

So.... wonder if this article qualifies for an ISA (shakes head... then my vote will change to "What vote?!? This voter does not exist")

The Joys of Working from Home!

Ahhh..... Probably my cough is a blessing in disguise!

I developed a really bad cough last Monday & I really didn't feel like going back to my in-laws' house & sleeping in bed all on my own... Wanna be pampered & hugged like a baby when he / she is not feeling well. So, I asked my boss if I can work from home for the next 4 days of the week instead of the agreed 2. So thankful she agreed.

So here I am working from home & strangely it is a rather therapeutic experience. Not tht I can spend more time writing on my blog, but in some ways I feel less stressed up & thus become more productive.

Most importantly, I get to have lunch & dinner with hubby dearest.

It's amazing how abt a year plus ago when we used to work together & meet each other 24-7; small things like eating together, watching tv together, washing dishes together & sleeping together, seem to be mundane stuff. Stuff tht you wouldn't think twice of. But now.... suddenly it became activities tht we (or at least I) treasure. Sometimes I feel like just a hug at the end of the day melts all the frustrations / stress away. It never felt like tht before when we had each other all the time.

Interesting....

Tennis Fever....

Nope sadly it's not me having tennis fever. It's abt Storm (again...)

Well, ever since she caught this interview with Roger Federrer after he lost to Nadal (did I get the spelling right? Argh.... who cares); she's been Roger this... Roger tht.... Reminds me of my schooling days in SMSTSSS when everyone had soccer fever... Girls going goo-goo-gaa-gaa over Redknap (again I dunno d right spelling) & I clearly remember Didie pining after McManaman (dunno if I got tht spelling right or not also); while I'll be teasing tht he's not cute at all - wht with the gangly daddy-long-legs stature. I'm digressing yet again... back to present...

So, our dear Storm was determined to pick up tennis as a sport (which she did after office - i.e. 12midnight!). However, Wolverine (her ex) is smart in suggesting tht maybe she should try playing the Wii version of tennis first before moving to the real thang... which she did... & guess what! She sprained her elbow (imagine the eyes popping out of socket like the scene from "The Mask" for effect plzzz)! Whoever sprains his / her elbow playing tennis on Wii?!? Pray tell if you found someone else other than Storm... :-)

Recently, Storm even bought tickets to watch Roger (yeap! we're on 1st name basis now) play at Bukit Jalil Stadium. We were joking tht Storm would just throw herself at Roger in excitement & Gangsta Mama added the drama by saying "yea! Roger will spank her with his tennis racket & she'll get 1 of her butt-cheek stuck to it!". Storm looked dreamy eyed to this - "Ahhh..... I don't mind if I can get closer to Roger....." errr.... duh.....

On the night of the match, she was so excited tht she accidentally sent me an old sms tht she saved in her outbox. A few seconds later she sent another sms saying she was so excited watching Roger play tht she pressed on the wrong button & send the old sms to me (eyes rolling out of my sockets then). I then replied "It's ok to press the wrong buttons for your h/p, but make sure you don't push the wrong 'buttons' on Roger..." *wink* *wink*

Mama Mia!

That's what happens when not updating blog on a timely basis... My updates are all jumbled & not in it's order of event... I watched Mama Mia before the Bond movie... but what the heck... Wht's important is the event!

Anyways, Storm, Toby's owner (remember my blog on someone who called her Savvy Toby? tht's her), Gangsta Mama, hubby dearest (managed to "con" him into joining the grp of us gals) & myself decided to watch Mama Mia (the movie... not the Broadway version). However as we're only able to get movie tickets for 9+pm, Gangsta Mama can't make it, so our movie group is reduced to 4.

Gangsta Mama joined us for dinner though & wht an expensive dinner tht was! We wanted something "fast" but all the "fast" places we know are jammed pack with people, so we ended up at a "posh" looking Indian Restaurant - Cinnamon at the Gardens. Spent about RM50+ per pax for Naan, Curries & Indian delicacies. Taste is good, but not worth the price when you can get cheaper at the traditional banana leaf restaurant. Anyway, I digressed from the topic.

So, we made it to the movies just in time. Anyone who knows me know tht I am a sucker for musicals - Sound of Music, The King & I, My Fair Lady, Singing In The Rain, Summer Holidays - featuring Sir Cliff Richard looking oh so cute etc etc (am digressing again), but sadly this movie is... It's good, but the cast is a horror... In summary :
1) I hated the bride in the story - too giggly
2) Meryl Streep is good - but I just can't remove the Meryl Streep image from the Devil Wear's Prada & 101 Dalmatians. Her features is much too... errmm.... too.... hard / tough for this role
3) The groom looks worse! He tries to give the smoky / sexy look to his bride, but ended up looking like a pervert leering at a lamb! (& I literally meant lamb... not innocents girls...)
4) There's 1 Jamaican? Puerto Rican? African American? Well a character with dreadlocks... who seem to have an overdose of testosterone, looking like he's about to hump anyone / anything (I know tht's crass - but it was really tht bad!)
5) The award for the worst of all cast of horror? Pierce Brosnan! OMG! What happened! All of us had the shivers when he sang; then he had to dance - which made our hair stand on ends & the Finale - singing in psychedelic, tight leotard & chest bearing costume - strutting his "wares"... AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Why!?! Why!?! Why didn't you just stop at 007 - Bond? Why add this to your illustrious career... I'll never look at Brosnan's Bond the same way again (shakes head...)

Despite all tht, it was highly entertaining & I just love the Meryl Streeps' friends (can't remember their names). Music was great - can never go wrong with ABBA... Could have been better though...

Bond - Ketenangan Di Dunia Penuh Kesengsaraan

The other day, the Retail team were treated to a free Premier screening of Bond: Quantum of Solace at GSC Signature @ The Gardens, when they launched the "secret" model car tht will be on sale at our Retail stations.

We were like "deer enter a village" (Malay proverb to describe someone who's awed by normal stuff - not very good @ translating. Storm, will need Mr Tee & Mr Tam's help), cos' when we found out tht the seats can recline (a bit lar), gangsta mama & I started to throw our weight against the seat & it went boing-boing-boing... hahahaha..... (fortunately Shell bao the whole cinema for this show - no other ppl to witness the "perak"-ness of these few claim execs).

Then when the movie started, Gangsta Mama, Storm & I nearly sprayed our Pepsi when we saw the Malay translation for Quantum Solace - "Ketenangan Di Dunia Penuh Kesengsaraan"! Well, if we get "lonely lady seeks company of vegetable" for subtitles in a Thai movie, this is mild in comparison I guess... But we're really amazed by the "creativity" tht went into translating tht title! The 3 of us might translate it as "Ketenangan Kuantum" / "Jumlah Ketenangan" & left it as tht.... :-)

Since we were seated in pairs, I was sitting with Gangsta Mama; while Storm was seated with a Malay guy colleague of ours (I pity him... wonder how he survived). As usual, Storm was gushing over how "manly" / "macho" / "hot" Daniel Craig is. Her fever for Craig was immediately dampened when he replied "He looks like a.... a..... what do you call the men at sea...? errr.... Nelayan (i.e. fisherman)!...."

Though after tht event, Storm tried to justify tht the colleague actually meant "Sailor", but just can't find the word for it; I highly doubt tht he made tht error... I seriously think he meant it when he said our new Bond looks like a "Nelayan". Poor Storm....

All in all, I guess we enjoyed the cinema setting more than the movie. To the Bond fanatic fans, they'll insist tht it's a continuation to the 1st Bond movie by Daniel Craig, so might be confusing for those who didn't follow the series... Still.... Can't help feeling the it didn't meet the mark.

Shopping Funnies

Lately I have been going on shopping sprees with Ms Storm - weekdays & weekends. Weekdays is whenever we got sick & tired of work & wants out. Weekends is whenever hubby dearest goes for his weekly hair treatment (& whenever Ms Storm can drag her ass out of bed before 12noon!).

One of the funniest incidents was when we found a dinner wear on 70% discount. There's 1 dress tht I particularly liked, but they only had size 'M' available. I doubt I can fit into it, so I replaced it on the rack, but Ms Storm as usual was 'brilliant' in her advice; said tht some size 'M' are huge, so I "might" just fit into it.

Oh well... No harm trying....

I got the dress down just nice all right but I can't zip up, so back to the racks... errr... but wait a minute.... why can't I get it pass my shoulders now.... hmmmm.... let's try downwards.... oh no, it's stuck at my hips.... How did I get in & can't get out? It's a puzzlement... Maybe it's my bra? So I removed it & still found the dress stuck at my shoulders. I knew then I need to get help fr Ms Storm so tht I can stretch my arms to the front & try to "arrow" my shoulders so tht it's less wide; while she pulls the dress out of me.

Darn! but I have no pants to put on because I was wearing a dress thinking tht it's easier to shop when I have only 1 article of clothing to remove. Now it's working against me - I don't have any pants to put on! Oh to hell with it! It's better than tearing this dress & having to pay RM100+ for a torn dress!

Storm? Storm? Oh Storm.........? I peered out the fitting room door & can't find her anywhere. Where did she go?!? I'm doomed.... Then a knock on the door.... Drat! Not the sales girl I hope... I cracked open the fitting room & what a relief to see Storm's face (I think tht is the only time I'll ever be relieved to see Storm... hahahaha....) Anyway, I told Storm of my predicament, got her into the fitting room (with me trying my best to cover my "modesty"), pulled the darn clothing over my head (phew.... wht a relief!) & practically pushed Storm out immediately after!

We were laughing all the way after tht (causing quite a few stares in the process) & Storm naturally insists tht this has to be documented in my blog (since I've caused enough embarrassment documenting her antics). Oh well.... think this is mild compared wht you normally do Storm... So I don't mind...

Oh, but before I end; I can't help putting in another Storm's antics from this shopping trip. Guess why Storm was missing when I first called for help? Well, Storm has a HUGE black handbag (tht she tortures & fill it up till the shape is all contorted) & while waiting for me, she made a turn somewhere near a mannequin, accidentally swings her HUGE handbag & knocked the hand (wrist downwards) off! She tried to fix it back, but the hand can't seem to be fixed back in place. Finally she left it right next to the mannequin's feet. As the mannequin is modeling a long evening gown, the wrist of the hand is covered, so from the view of any passers-by, the mannequins seem to have 3 feet!

Storm... I think we'll be banned from the shop in future lar with wht we did tht day... Probably a CCTV picture distributed to all staff to "shoo" at sight! :-p

More Shopping Funnies to come when I can write again....

Sigh.... Storm's Quirks

I think this is not the first time I said tht I need to change this blog into "Storm's Quirks" rather than "Fern's Quirks"! I'm writing almost all about her quirks here & I'm going to post another 1 now! Sigh... The unfairness of it all.

Let's see where to start? There are so many.....

1. She likes it "hard & rough"
OK.... Before any of you go anywhere near 18SX, pls take your mind off the dumpster & read first (or izit just me having my mind in the gutters? blame it on my hubby! I'm innocent! HA!). Anyways, to those close to dear Ms. Storm, we know she hates the drumstick because, in her words, "it tastes so oily & slimy & smooth, it's disgusting". Some new friends tht join us for lunch then queried her further; "what about beef / lamb?" Of which she answered tht she only takes the lean meat & cut away the fat. Gangsta Mama & I must have sent everyone else in the lunch group in silent shock when we said "In summary, she likes her 'meat' hard & rough!"... OMG... The 18SX connotation from tht 1 sentence!

2. Pastis, Tennis & Coke?
You must be wondering what does all the above words have in common. None whatsoever if not for the fact tht there were some really "damaging misunderstanding" due to some hearing problem / bad pronunciations (the reason for the misconception depends on whether the person is the listener / the speaker. Naturally the speaker aka Ms. Storm will say tht it's the listeners tht's having hearing problem). Anyway, back to the topic. So 1 day, Ms Storm suggested tht we should do lunch at the Gardens MidValley in a cafe called "Pastis". I did a double take & said "What?!?!?! Testis for lunch!" Ms Storm then had to spell it out for me & as mentioned earlier, both parties claim to be the innocent & it's the other party's error. For this case though, I can proudly claim tht it is definitely in Ms. Storm's pronunciation, because she repeated tht to several other ppl (Gangsta Mama & Road Bully included) & all of them heard the same word as I did...

Some time later, we were talking about tennis because Storm has a crush on Roger Federrer lately & has been following the progress of the tennis matches. When she mentioned the word "tennis", somehow all of us heard the word "penis" & she started laughing her normal Storm hysterical laugh saying "What is wrong with you guys! First Pastis became Testis & now Tennis?!" To which the rest of us defended, "we told you it's your pronunciation, otherwise you won't have all of us hearing the wrong thing right.... We further speculated how wrong it will sound if we tried to say "I love playing tennis & balls" OR "I love playing tennis, but hate collecting balls" but it sounded like...... you fill in the blanks ;-)

Then only recently (lunch today in fact), we're at San Francisco Steak Hse having lunch with free-flow Coke / Sprite. This time Storm had some hearing problem when I said "Would like more Coke" & she burst out laughing. Puzzled I looked at her & she had to whisper over the table (cos' we had a male lunch partner in our midst). With a devilish glint in her eyes she said "I heard Cock" Oh Ms Storm.... you're so crass.... :-p

3. Never trust a translation for a Thai movie
As experienced by our dear Ms Storm (I seriously wonder why all this strange incidence happens only to her), she was bored & tried watching a Thai horror flick relying on sub-titles to understand the story. Needless to say, she stopped when the sub-title came in as "lonely girl seeks company of vegetable". How can a horror movie sound so "blue"? Only in Storm's world.

4. Rear-End Review?
Ms Storm was about to send a meeting invite to her supervisor to book time for her Year-End Review. Just before sending the mail out, she realized tht she accidentally typed "Rear-End Review" on the title. Talk about MAJOR Career Suicide Move (CSM)... (author is rolling her eyeballs in resignation)

5. Salmon Balls anyone?
Why does everything Ms. Storm says seem to have sexual connotations? Now, Ms Storm has developed a penchant for the Salmon roe (not the tiny ones, but the bigger ones the size of small necklace beads). Trying to tell me & Road Bully about her new "love" she said "I just love this Salmon balls. It's so squishy & juicy, it just bursts in my mouth! Yum!" It sounded SO dodgy... Granted, it might be just me & road bully purposely misunderstanding her, but.... but.... there are better words to use.... "Roe", Ms Storm... It's called Salmon Roe!

Opps.... I have more to share but hubby dearest is already waiting downstairs... I'll continue in my next article of "Sigh..... Storm's Quirks Part II". As usual, we can never finish her quirks in 1 sitting.... :-) Meanwhile, enjoy... Storm, you're welcome to "defend" yourself, but it's no use... :-p Others, if you see anyone defending Storm's actions, you know who she is....

P.S. I Love You

I recently read this book called P.S. I Love You. Have always wanted to read it from the great reviews I heard of it, but looking at the synopsis, it didn't sound tht enthralling. Boy was I wrong! It was among the most emotional / touching book I've read.

The funny thing was, I keep hugging my hubby after every single note tht ended with P.S. I Love You, tht he gave me the wht's-wrong-wif-u look.

The gist of the story is tht there's a couple called Gerry & Holly. Gerry is diagnosed with brain tumor & died. As Holly was still in great depression after his death, she found a parcel from Gerry to her & in this parcels there are 10 envelopes - 1 for each month (he died in Feb, so it's for the balance of the mths before the year ends). The rule of the game is she can only open the envelope on the allocated mth. Each envelope has a short message asking her to do something tht will - help her get through her grief / reach out for her friends & family again / find a job to occupy her time / enrich her life / an all expense paid trip for Holly & her friends! etc-etc... but they all ends with P.S. I Love You - which is so touching.

So to explain my "hugging actions" to my hubby I told him the story & said I can understand how the heroine feels... I can't bear thinking of such tragedy befalling us! It makes me wanna cry thinking how horrible it must be to go through wht Holly had to go through. Sigh.... but.... ever the realist, my hubby said "So... you're thinking I'll die soon / first ah... & you want me to write to you tht notes."

Rolling my eyes, I tell myself... why did I even bother telling this man who gives me chrysanthemums (the ones you bring to the Chinese graves) as a gift!

Tried promoting it to Storm but she can't appreciate it as well. In her words "the heroinne is crying & whining all the time; it's nerve grating!" Hmm... Isn't tht a normal reaction to death especially for someone so close?

Oh well... I still love it anyway & it reminds me to never take for granted tht our loved-ones know of our feelings without expressing... Reminds me to say "I Love You" more often to ppl tht matters. Reminds me to be more patient if my hubby is taking hours to get ready / is such a sound sleeper tht I have to create an "earthquake" to wake him up / is slow to figure out wht pisses me off (men!). After all, he was patient with my "lousy" cooking (always not as good as mummy's... an impossible yardstick to match up to... Imagine - "my mum fried eggs differently & it somehow tastes better" duh...), my craze for books (even reading over dinner), my chocoholic cravings, my building shoe collection & my craze over L'Occitane products.

So bibi dearest... Have I told you today? P.S. I Love you... :-)

Fern's Evil Twin

I've done it! I've finally got my hair cut & permed! Gosh... I do look different! Storm said tht it must be my evil twin walking around.... Not Fern...

Have been putting it off for so long tht when I told Storm I'm going to get my hair done, she gave me the "Yeah-right-we'll-see" look.

So Hari Ini Dalam Sejarah - 1st time in my 29-years on earth I'm having curls in my hair. Will try to get my pix posted as soon as I got 1.

Thanks for those who voted... See... I took your advise... :-)

Ciao!

Chinese Wedding Tradition for Sean

My Ozzi “halfy” (half Aus + half Chinese) cousin is getting married & he’d like to plan a traditional wedding ceremony in M’sia to celebrate the occasion with his Mum’s side of the family. So in my attempt to document down the list of ceremonies / things to do, I thought, why not just document them down in my Blog! Haiya…!

Ok, so here goes – it’s going to be a long 1 (apologies if I misquoted / misrepresent cos’ I must admit that I’m also very much a “banana” = yellow outside, white inside) :-p

1. Seeking hand in marriage
Sean will most likely skip this step cos’ he’s proposed (on bended knees!) in some mountain (I can’t remember where – Canada?). Anyways, just for general knowledge, normally the head of the family from the bride & the groom will meet at a Restaurant / Tea House (most likely over dim sum – juzz my fantasy, may not be true…). This is where they’ll be agreeing on the marriage & “hammer” out such details as number of tables to be reserved for the brides’ family for the wedding dinner, dowry amount, dowry presentation date, “Cross Door” date (i.e. when the bride is fetched fr the lady’s to the man’s family) & yada-yada-yada.

2. Presentation of “dowry” & “sweetener”
Now this is an interesting piece of tradition, cos’ I didn’t really know much abt it until I went through it myself. Following are the list of stuff my husband has to prepare & bring to my parent on the allocated date & time :
a) Dowry – of course…. Money-money-money…. Not cheap u know to feed & educate kids these days… hahaha

b) Raw cane sugar in bars – to sweeten the bride’s family for having their daughter “taken away”. To understand this concept is another long story, but suffice to say tht to traditional Chinese, the daughter is as good as “given away” / a more crude version would be “water tht has been thrown out of the bride’s family” & thereafter will be the full fledged family member of the groom. So to “compensate” for the bitterness of having to part with their daughter whom they have cared for all these years, they are given sugar / sweet stuff as “sweetener”. Now it’s given more as a tradition rather than a form of “compensation”

c) Boiled pork / pork leg (can’t remember) – don’t know wht is this for to be honest. Not another form of compensation I hope cos’ I sure hate to be “traded” with a pig! haha

d) Bao / Mantou preferably with Kaya filling – I don’t know the original reason behind this, but the new version tht I hear fr the “Dai Kam Che” (the lady employed to handle all the ceremonies for the wedding) is tht Kaya which is made of coconut milk + egg + sugar also sounds like the Malay word for “Rich” & Bao in Chinese sounds like “guaranteed”. So by having Kaya Bao, you’re “Guaranteed Richness”… I know-I know, this must be some new thing M’sian Chinese developed. Doubt the Mainland China folks know wht is Kaya!

e) Sweet drinks – Same concept as (b). In this modern age & time F&N Orange would do just fine. No Coca-Cola / Pepsi pls… Anything black is a No-No.

In return, my family will give the following (it is the believed tht the groom should not go back empty-handed. The superstition is tht the bride’s family will take all the wealth fr the groom :
a) Old coconut – To be honest I can’t remember if this is supposed to come from the bride / the groom, but I just assume it’s fr the bride lah! Reason being, the bride will call the father-in-law by the title “Loh-Yeh” (roughly translated as Old Father?.. or something like tht) & old coconut is called “Low Yea” in Cantonese; so due to similarity in sound, this is given (probably to say “You can start calling me Loh Yeh fr now Missy! :-p ). Oh & it has to be 2 & not 1. Chinese is against odd numbers. Everything good must come in even numbers. Normally these old coconuts are stuck with red paper cut out to the shape of “double happiness” Chinese character.

b) Any sweets / cakes / offerings deem fit by the bride’s family. Pix of some sample:

3. Delivery of “ka lui peng” = marry daughter biscuits (direct translation)
The brides family will buy a type of biscuit called “ka lui peng” to be presented to the invited guests when the wedding invitation card is being sent out. It’s a round cake with thin flour skin usually in yellow / red colour with lotus paste / red bean paste filling & a double happiness “stamp” on top. Pix as follows.

4. Hair Combing Ceremony (make sure use lots of conditioner here! Rebonding anyone?)
I don’t know the history of this ceremony, but I do know wht happens. Following are the things that a bride has to prepare for the ceremony:
a) A brand new pyjama – preferably in pink. Dunno the significance of this, but I guess you don’t wanna start your married life wif your ol’ pyjama qua… Word of caution: despite modern times & yes, we know the laces / lingerie is a much sexier alternative for the “bedroom action”, pls DO NOT attempt to wear this “variety” for this ceremony. Some elders may just have a heart attack & the ancestors may just go in hiding! A modest 2 piece pyjama with long pants (not shorts!) will do.

b) A pair of red candles, joss sticks, “bowl” to hold the joss sticks in place & red paper / cloth to cover the table

c) “Thong Yuen” which consists of small rice-flour balls in sweet syrup – some of the rice balls are tinted with red dye. 1 of the rice ball should be of a bigger size & the bride is suppose to eat / swallow it without chewing! (I remembered wondering wht if I choke here… then there wouldn’t be a wedding! But… puh-puh-puh dai ka lai si!)

d) Red Thread (can someone tell me wht is this for?)

e) Mirror (errmmm….)

f) Scissors (err… In the olden days there’s no professional hairdressers, so the bride need to get her haircut / set on this day?)

g) Red Wooden Clogs – the bride is suppose to wear this during the ceremony

h) Comb – now this is the interesting part. The parent of the bride will need to comb the hair of the bride in 3 strokes & each stroke must be a complete stroke from the crown of the head to the tip of the hair. It’s deemed in auspicious to have a tangle half way through the stroke; belief it is to signify tht married life should be smooth sailing & no obstacles in the way. Modern women have the solution to this – rebonding! Some may rightfully ask, what if I wanna keep my natural curls? You cheat! Wash / wet your hair (get the help of conditioners if need to), comb your hair till it’s sleek & de-tangled and use a comb with bigger gap btw the bristles! Haha… Anyway, to continue, each of the 3 strokes needs to be accompanied by the following 3 phrases (1 phrase for each stroke ar… Not repeat the 3 phrases for all 3 strokes!):
i. First comb, comb till the end (I know it sounds horrible when translated to English – but it’s quite poetic in Chinese)
ii. Second comb, every strand of hair are in order
iii. Third comb, children & grandchildren full 1 whole floor (I’m serious! That’s the exact translation! Honest! Now you know why our forefathers always have minimum 8 & max infinity children!). I must have been crossing my fingers when this was said cos’ I “have not even laid an egg since getting married!” sigh…

5. Fetching the bride
At a fixed time, the bridegroom will come to the bride’s house in a “convoy”. The bigger the “convoy” the more “face” the bride’s family has (typical Chinese – show offs! Hahahaha). Normally the brother of the bride will need to open the door of the groom’s car when it arrives & for tht “service” the groom is suppose to give “angpow” to the future brother-in-law to buy a new pair of shoes (dun ask me why shoes cos’ I dunno, but tht’s wht I was told).

Think you can get to the bride now? Not tht easy… There will be friends & relatives of the bride (only women) tht set up roadblocks at the entrance of the bride’s room. The groom / his entourage will need to perform anything tht the friends / relatives ask to do – it can range from eating some disgusting concoction of wasabi + soya sauce + raw eggs etc, singing love songs and come up with an impromptu poetry recital to showing-off the groom’s “physical prowess” with some hard push-ups! Look! 1-hand push-up! (lucky for my hubby my aunties & friends are much too nice to torture him much. Just some angpows & a song. Cheh!)

6. Tea Ceremony – Bride’s House
Immediately after “retrieving” the bride, both bride & groom will start serving tea to the bride’s family – starting with the bride’s grandparent, parent, paternal uncle, aunties / cousins (only those married), maternal uncle, aunties / cousins (only those married). They will take turns to be seated in pairs, the couple will bow, serve them tea & greet by their title / rank in the family (e.g. “Eldest paternal uncle, pls have some tea” / “3rd maternal auntie, pls have some tea). In return, they will give the bride & groom ang pow or in some cases they’ll give the bride gold chains / jewelleries; which she has to decked them all upon being given. So if you have 10 bracelets you’ll be wearing them up to the elbow! & if there’s 5 necklaces, you’ll be wearing all of them over your neck! I also learned tht if an elder is pregnant, she must stand when being served tea because the bride & groom are older than the baby in the womb, so it wouldn’t be right for the baby to “sit” (via his/her mum’s body) & be bowed at by their elders.

After completing this, the bride & groom can then sit & distribute ang pows to the children / unmarried relatives (even those older than the bride & groom because in Chinese tradition, a person who’s unmarried is still considered a “child”). Finally the bride will be escorted out by the groom & a lady representative carrying either a red / pink umbrella towards the groom’s car. The relatives of the bride will follow in the cars that came in the convoy to go to the groom’s hse for another round of celebration as invited guests.

7. Prayers to the Gods & Tea Ceremony at the Bridegroom’s House
When the bride comes to the groom’s house, she has to bring along the following items:
a) Potty with fruits, ang pow, “leng zhi” & “bak hap” (both are a type of dried edible seed & plant bulb) in it & the rim is covered in red paper. Fruits in Cantonese is “Sang Guo” & the word “Sang” sounds like deliver (as in deliver a baby); the word “zhi” from “leng zhi” sounds child & the word “hap” from “bak hap” sounds like good tidings (or something like tht lar... difficult to translate this). Naturally the red potty is for future use by the little ‘un (the hope is not too distant future)

b) Red Baby bathtub – again for the baby… Can the hint be any stronger!?!

c) 2 rice bowls filled to the brim with rice & 2 pairs of chopsticks – to signify tht the couple will always be filled with wealth & will not find anything in want. The chopsticks are to signify tht the couple now will always be in pairs.

8. Wedding Dinner
After going through all the above, the wedding dinner is the easiest to get over with. Just drink like a fish, accept all forms of concoction / cocktail of hard liquor, don’t care to who / where just shout “Yaaaaaaaaaaa - aaaaammmmmm Seng!” you’ll never go wrong and pray tht you didn’t make too much of an ass of yourselves in front of your parent-in-law / relatives. Word of advise, make sure you eat before dinner, cos’ you can expect to have dinner 2 hours later than the time printed on the wedding invitation (Why we even bother putting the time on the card is a puzzle to me…)

Coincidentally it consists of 8 steps! “Fatt ah! Very Fatt” (not fat ar mind you… It means prosperous in Chinese)

Boy, this is 1 loooonnnnggggg marathon to complete. It spans across weeks to write this & cracking my head to remember the details of my own wedding. Am sure I’ve missed out quite a bit cos’ there’s so many! So Sean, do you still want a full scale Chinese wedding? Hahaha…. I went through them & despite the many steps; it was quite fun actually (thinking back now tht is – not then… Was crazily nervous then!)

Where Do I Start?!?!

Boy there's lots to update after the long period of silence. Where do I start?..... Well, there's 1 piece of update that I would really want to record here, so I'll start with whatever that comes to mind.


Storm recently got her teeth bleached (ok... the right term to use is whitened; but I always feel that for the case of Storm, anything normail is abnormal). As a result, she must refrain herself from staining agents like all caffeinated drinks. However to a caffeine addict like Storm that is like asking her to stop breathing! "What!! No teh tarik for my evening breaks?!?"


The Solution? Typical Storm came up with the "brilliant" idea of using a straw to drink her Cafe Latte & Teh Tarik. Whenever we go to the normal restaurant we frequent, she will order a Cafe Latte & then asks for a straw. The first time she asks for it, the waiter practically cocked his brow. Don't blame him... It's my first time hearing of someone drinking latte out of a straw too.


Anyways, that's not the end of it.... Oh yes... There's more...

So, since she does it so frequently, it comes to a point when the waiter automatically brought her latte along with a straw without her asking for it! Worse... Sometimes, they were waiting for her to ask for it & when the request was not forthcoming, they come to Storm & ask "Need a straw?"

Our lunch group became known / remembered because of Storm! sigh... what's new...

Nightmare in June

Boy! Jun 2008 should go down in history as the worse month in my entire life! If Blog writing can be an indication, it is obvious that I have a combination of :
1. hectic work schedule
2. weekends reserved for blog writing is now for either working / recovering from the late nights at work over the weekday
3. writers block that lasted for a month
4. plain ol' laziness to even turn on the PC because I have been facing the PC almost 24-7 during the weekdays (I think I have developed PC / laptop phobia during this period)

sigh...... Promise to be more active in July. There's lots that I want to update that I don't know where to start! One (many actually) of which involves Storm (as usual) & another theory / hypothesis on work.

Catch up later!

Busy May

It is amazing how time flies! Work just over-ruled almost all other activities (including blog writing!) that I have not written in a long time.

Besides, Storm was not around for the for about a week which also reduced the amount of blog materials tremendously.... ;-)

Fortunately, we found a new acquaintance & surprise... surprise... he's an auditor (but performing documentation services for us). He contributed some blog materials which I will share here. To provide anonymity (he's very shy.... blah....), I'll introduce this new character in our group as..... as..... as..... hmmm..... I'm stump... my creative juice is just not flowing.... Let's just leave him as Blade... until I can think of a better name...

Anyway, the first glimpse of the mischief behind the always proper & professional facade is a very funny character... Unlike Storm who show you right in the face, Blade's character only shows up when he's stressed / when he finally lets his hair down.

To cut straight to the story, it was one of those days with particularly difficult dose of Voldy, Blade finally broke his "cool as cucumber" profesional expression & burst out - "I think I should have been a chef! Then I will only deal with 'benda-benda yang sudah mati' (i.e. dead materials only). I can cincang-cincang (mince) them / do anything to them & will not get any complaints!"

Hmmm.... that's a thought. When Gangsta Mama & I first heard it, we both burst out laughing out loud (disregarding Voldy's presence).

uh-oh.... I'll need to stop now & continue about his antics in my next article. Hubby dearest want to have some "quality together time" (I know what you're thinking Storm...... go scrub your brains!) watching Indiana Jones. Adios!

Turning Silver?

I know it may be a wee bit childish to wanna make a fuss over this but...

I found a strand of white hair on me!! - errr, ok let's rename it to silver - near the edge of my hairline! It's not obvious (cos' it's only a strand), but it's there! Yikes!

Well Storm... I may join your all silver hair fashion statement in some years to come (soon? Oh please no!).

Toby Dah-Ling!....

Some might be wondering who in the world is Toby? Another Storm / Gangsta Mama / Road Bully?

It is a nick name all right... but not for a person but a car! Trust Gangsta Mama to come across this bit of news...

Well, it all started when our dear fren in office who offered a ride to Gangsta Mama & frens to the Farewell Party we organized for Yus (as 'reported' in my earlier blog). I can't remember the details of what happened along the way, but I do know that this cute lady of ours had to exert her Proton Savvy; which then prompted a spontaneous remark "Sorry ye Toby..."

Naturally Gangsta Mama's eyes widen as large as saucers, wondering who the driver said sorry to. Errr.... Your car has a name?!? But out of all names, why Toby?

The response / explanation I got was most appropriate indeed & thereafter I always find it to be very cute & endearing. It stands for :

TOBY = proTOn baBY

A stroke of genius! :-)

Ming's Party @ Tony Roma's Part II

Nothing much... Just to add another 1 small piece of funny incident of the night. When deciding on what appetiser to order, I read out the list of items under Roma's Combo to hubby dearest. I said something like... "It has potato skins, buffalo wings... etc... etc... bla... bla... bla...".

After which he replied "I think we take the onion rings lar... Since we already ordered steak for our main"

I cocked up an eyebrow & wondered what does the steak got to do with our choice of our appetiser? Seeing my confusion, he added "yalar... got beef steak already, why still wanna have buffalo?"

My brothers & I were laughing so hard that we can't order & the waitress had to wait till we stop... Then my dad added that he honestly thinks that he'll make the same blunder in mistaking the chicken wings for a buffalo too! How in heavens does a buffalo sprout wings? and Why in the world did they name the dish "Buffalo Wings" anyway?!? So confusing...

Who knows... We can't explain to the westerners why we name our Chinese frog dish "Spring Chicken" either. Just another 1 of those quirks...

Don't worry honey... I won't think of you as a "Himbo" (Storm's term for the male variety of Bimbo - as she's sick of hearing the term Bimbo used on Storm too often). Just.... Uninformed...

'Baby' Brother's Birthday @ Tony Roma's

Though my youngest brother (Ming) is already 19 come this Birthday, but he's still & will always be the 'baby' of the family. The most mischievous of the 3 of us, he always has a way in 'indirectly' indicating to us where he wants to celebrate / what he'd like to eat.

So when I planned the birthday 'party' with my parent, Shen (my younger brother) & Mei Ling (Shen's girlfriend), I knew he'll have a few 'posh' places in mind **wink** **wink**

Anyways, initially Ming wanted to go to Saisaki for the Japanese buffet @ UOA near KLCC. However that place is getting to damn expensive & no longer worth it. So I suggested another venue - Tony Roma's. No.... not the one at the Curve, but their new outlet at the Gardens (Mid Valley). Wow! It was really good...

Now let's see if I can remember what we ordered :
1. Roma's Combo (a variety of appetiser consisting of buffalo wings, potato skins with melted cheese on top, 1 other appetiser I can't remember what was it, some celery & carrot sticks with a variety of dips)
2. Martini Shrimp (no... there's no hint of alcohol in that appetiser... It's just served in a giant Martini Glass; thus the name)
3. Full Rack Ribs (yummiest of all & the meat around the HUGE ribs are quite tender too. I belief it's the signature dish too)
4. Grilled Lamb Chops (quite dry - would be better with some sauce coated on the chops; but quite yummy when it's still hot)
5. Lightly grilled Cod Fish with Garlic Butter Sauce, Fragrant Rice & Brocolli (Delicious! The fish is so fresh & tasty and the rice is soft & fragrant... Highly recommend those who would like to avoid red meat)
6. Steak & boneless ribs combo (just to try the boneless ribs variation. Shen sums it up real nicely. The ribs meat without bones is just as tasty & nice; but the ribs with the bones is more satisfying as you sink your teeth into it & tear it off the bones - nothing like a nice bit of 'barbarian'-ism in having a satisfying meat meal! hehe...)
7. Shrimp with Pasta (Out of all the mains, this is the most disappointing one. Don't get me wrong though. It's good, but compared with the rest of the mains, it just lose out...)

All in all everyone enjoyed the meal very much, not to mention basking under the attentive waitresses service. Daddy even had a plastic 'bib' tied around his neck (which he admitted later that he actually thought the waitress is offering some plastic 'gloves' to tackle the ribs - too late... by the time he found out that she's actually handing out bibs, she's already in the midst of tying it around his neck! hahaha..........).

I think we were the noisiest lot in the restaurant, not to mention the most relaxed cos' we just pass our food around, totally forgot about the use of utensils & enjoyed the satisfying use of our bare hands, take pictures like it's our first time in a restaurant, making funny faces & gestures in front of the camera (the proper still pix in front of camera is no longer 'in') & the greatest shocker of all - baby bro & daddy teasing the waitresses (baby bro took pix with 1 of them too!).

We were having so much fun that I forgot to bring out the party poppers that I specially rushed to PJ Old Town to get it - what a shame... bet we'll shock even more patrons with it! **devilish grin**

Phew... Fortunately my recommendation this time is ok. It's always tricky trying to introduce western food to daddy cos' he's a bit picky & it's very rare that he finds any western fare appetising. Surprisingly this time he whole heartedly agreed. Though it does cause quite a bit of damage on the pocket but it's worth it.

The only regret I had was that :
1. I forgot to bring my camera, so had to 'ciplak' from Mei Ling for the photos
2. I did not manage to throw a similar party / birthday dinner for Shen. Not that I love him less or anything, but the timing at that time (20th Mar) was at the period when I was really very busy & can't make a trip to Malacca. Sorry bro... Don't jealous ar...

Lastly, I would like to make a disclaimer that I am in no way paid to comment / advertise / praise on Tony Roma's food. Nor do I have any shares / am related to the restaurant in any way (if I am, I wouldn't be paying for my meal - wouldn't I...) :-p

p/s : Thanks Mei Ling for the nice slideshow of the pix taken during the dinner & the lunch at Genki Sushi - KLCC outlet the following day.

'Baby' Brother's Birthday

Make a free photo slideshow

Farewell to the "Lady in Mask" - Part II

To those following my blog, some may wonder what we finally got for our dear Lady Behind the Paper Mask. Well, after much searching & cracking the cranium, we finally got her :
1. Man Utd T-Shirt (Nike - original)
2. Collector's Man. Utd. Sticker Book

It was quite a strange selection process when my hubby & I went scouting for the T-Shirt. At first we wanted to get the jersey, but 2 things stopped us :
1. they only have size L & XL (& the size L can fit both my hubby & his tummy with room to spare!)
2. it has made in Thailand label (not that it is of lower quality... but... you know... the connotation)

We then found a T-Shirt that has Man Utd logo & the Nike logo. Though it's not the customary red / black colour (it's white) but it fits all criterias including the size. My hubby checks the label again & this time it's printed "Made in Turkey". He then said "this should be ok lar... At least Turkey is one of the 'European' countries..." **eyes rolling**

The other funny bit to share here is that she got excited just looking at the Collector's Man. Utd. Sticker Book that the Nike T-Shirt seem to be temporarily forgotten! It goes without saying that the T-Shirt is the more expensive of the 2.

Hmmm.... It makes me wonder.... we have Storm (& her exploits is well known in this blog). Now we have this reaction from lady in mask who's co-incidentally Storm's neighbour... One wonders if Storm's antics is contagious... **wink**

Anyway, when she finally got to opening her prezzy & found the T-Shirt, she was beyond ecstatic too... phew! My job is a complished! Was quite a feat trying to find her gift! After all, am not a football fan (don't even know the players names, let alone their field position).

A Day At The Spa

Yesterday, Gangsta Mama, Storm & Myself went to the Andana Spa at Glenmarie. We bought some vouchers at RM120 which includes a 40minutes massage, free-flow food & drinks (which includes fresh fruit juices & Haagen Dazz Ice-cream), usage of the spa facilities (i.e. jacuzzi, steam bath, dry sauna etc) and the lounge area (with Astro, DVD players, flatscreen TVs, magazines, recliner sofas) - not to mention the royalty treatment!

As usual, when there's Storm, there's Blog material... I shudder at the thought of the length this blog is going to be in documenting our girl's day out... :-)

Firstly, on friday, when we plan on the Spa outing, I mentioned to Storm that I'm planning to bring my own massage lotion & asked her whether she wants to bring her own. She replied "Will cooking oil work?" with a wicked glint in her eyes (& an equally wicked smile)... Jeezzz... She's getting from bad to worse!

• Oh & I should also mention that towards the end of the outing when we were dipping in the jet / jacuzzi pool, she said "If I offer RM200 & dare you to bring the cooking oil for the massage, will you do it?" - trust Storm to come up with such questions... Anyway, I asked if I actually need to use the cooking oil in my massage; of which she replied "Of course! With RM200, it's more than enough to clean your back after that!" I think I rolled my eyes... & replied "Yeah... & pay thousands RM to clear the acne that formed on my back!?!"

Secondly, we agreed to meet at around 11am. Naturally Gangsta mama & I arrived relatively on time, but apparently Storm sms-ed Gangsta mama that she'll be late & will arrive around 12. Okay... since the spa facilities is under repair in the morning, we decided to eat & chat first. 12 o'clock came & Storm is still not in sight. Gangsta mama called her again & was told she'll be coming around 1-1.30pm. So we continue to chat & read some magazines again, enjoying the comfort of our sofa. When the clock strikes 2pm, Gangsta mama finally said "Fern... Your turn to call our dear Storm." Just about that time Storm appeared with a huge embarassed grin. As we thought, she woke up late... sigh... :-p

3rd highlight - After having more snacks & the quorum is now complete, we then went for our massage (since the spa facility is just up, I don't want to be the 1st to try if we'll be electrocuted - so safer to go for the massage first! LOL). Upon entering the room, we found 3 lady masseur - 2 slim ladies of China nationality & 1 local but about nearly 1.5-2 times my size. Gangsta & I got the slim ladies & Storm (just her luck) got the bigger sized lady!

We were stripped (quite professionally I must admit... we lie face down & extend our arms over our head, with minimal effort, they pull our loose camisole of our bodies) & our short was pulled half way down to expose our butt (yeah... they massage the butt too, but not the most comfortable of all places). The masseur was just starting for a few minutes when I had to turn up to speak to Storm's masseur cos' she's the only one there who can speak Cantonese & English (I'll explain the significance of this later...) The massage was good & all of us agreed that the massage on the neck & head region was SOOOOO Heavenly!

After the massage, as usual, Storm has her say of the experience (knowing Storm, I must warn that nothing should shock you by now... expect the most outrageous). Here goes:

• I asked if the massage was ok for Storm since she got such a huge lady! My first impression was she would break Storm's bones. Storm's reply was the usual unconventional "Yeah! When I was told she'll be massaging me I was thinking - oh boy! She sure hope she's not a 'les' used to the masculine role!" errrr.........?
• "I got a little worried when I felt a drop of cold liquid on my butt! Oh no... I hope she's not drooling over my butt!" (since she has the wild imagination that her masseur is a potential 'les') someone really needs to do something with Storm's imagination! Gangsta mama? any suggestions?
• Remember when I told you at 1 point I spoke to Storm's massuer? Well, the first thing Storm asks after the massage was "Oh yeah! Did you see my butt when you looked up to speak to my masseur?" in a rather indignantly (a feigned one) I must add. double errrr......? Why in heavens do I want to peep at your butt Storm? Unlike your active imagination & assessment of your masseur - I would much rather remain straight thank you...

4th incident... We were watching the King & I - the Yul Brynner version. Both Gangsta mama & I agreed that Yul Brynner is definitely the more dashing & royal version of the King of Siam as opposed to the many other remakes / versions of the movie. Storm commented that it goes to show that her previous remark that footballer Zidane is "handsome" is not too far off the mark then... Since both Zidane & Yul Brynner are bald! I think both Gangsta mama & I gave up at this point...

Well Storm... Thanks again for the blog material. I hope my blog doesn't get banned despite some 18+SX stuff that you commented on. =)

Oh and before I leave, I would like to add that at the start of the spa, we have agreed to ban on topics related to Voldy. Despite our best efforts, Voldy is still being discussed sporadically. However, I would like to congratulate ourselves for being able to stop having Voldy from entirely invading our de-stress session & belief we have achieved what we came for. We're thoroughly de-stressed. Belief it or not, by the time we left, it was around 9+pm! That's a total of about 10hrs (at least for me... am really milking all my RM120 worth! =p).

Girls... We really should do this more often... Wouldn't mind extending the invite to the rest of the gals... Do tell me if you're interested & will make sure to call when we have another of our Spa session.

Farewell to the "Lady in Mask"

Last Friday we threw a farewell party for our "Lady in Mask"...

She wanted to have the farewell at McD for 3 reasons :

1. She's a "carnivour" that only takes meat & no green vegetables in her diet

2. She wanted to have a McD style party with baloons & fun toys

3. She wants a clown...... hmmmm...... (remind me again her age?)

Anyway, we over-ruled her & brought her to Alexis @ The Gardens instead. We do however try to accomodate her wishes. No clowns unfortunately, but we do have a few tricks up our sleeves **wink** **wink**

Here are some pix of the "extra props" we brought :

you can imagine the "horrified" looks on the waiters.... but we warned them...

and here comes the "Lady Behind the Paper Mask!"

and... as usual, our party turned into a "conference" on the faults & errs of Voldy, so you'll see serious faces around the table (with the exception of Storm, not surprising...) :

which then resulted in the venting out of stress as evidenced by the condition of the paper strips that flew out of the party poppers we popped before lunch. Look at the following before & after photos.

A picture says a thousand words. In this case, 2,000. So, need I say more? :-)

All in all, it was a good party & we wish our "Superlady" all the best in her future job.

p/s: your gift hutang dulu... It's coming up... Susah lar wanna get a gift for a lady who has everything (including d colourful mask!)

More pix of Ilhana

Finally mama gangster gave me the pix that I want of Ilhana... The one with the 'air liur meleleh-leleh' :-D

Baybeelicious!

Most Athletic & Best Body Nomination?

I think the Ranking for people comparison in Facebook is seriously faulty...

I would readily admit to
#2 cutest =)
#3 best travel companion :-)
#4 best dinner companion ;-)
#4 best mother (potential) - well if you have gangster mama & Storm as a comparison.... ???

But....
#3 most athletic - huh???
#3 person with the best body - double huh???

I don't get it... Either the person is teasing me OR have serious visual impairment OR they are extremely unfit that the lift will definitely beep even when he / she is the only 1 in it! Whatever it may be, thanks for the vote of confidence though... Not that I'm complaining... More people to con on FB!

Lots of Love,
FB Bully

Jelingan "Maut" Ilhana

I was trying to figure out the translation for "Jelingan" & I just can't come out with an English word for it. Finally I google it & found "ogle flirtatiously"! Hmmm... That is not exactly the look that I got from Ilhana.

I tried again & I got a phrase! - a glance through the corner of the eye / to look out from the corner of the eye. That's more like it, but it's too long to put on the title! I can't have "Ilhana's glance through the corner of her eye"... hehe... Anyway, to cut the long story short, I use the Malay term above instead.

So, to those who wonder who is Ilhana..

She is our very own Gangster's daughter (see pix). See the cheeky look... Like mummy :-) It actually happened quite some time back, but am only putting it down in writing now.

What happened was, I made an appointment with Mdm Gangster to meet her somewhere. She was in her "HUGE" Car (to fit her Gangster title) with her twin sons & Ilhana (her daughter - aka daddy's princess **wink** **wink**).

You see, Mdm Gangster has managed to "bully" her daughter at the tender age of 1.5 years old to raise her hand when her name is called. She raise her hands to names such as :

1. Ilhana

2. Princess Ayah

3. Buchuk Macham Mama aka Busuk Masam Mama (Don't ask me why... Ask her Gangster mama)

So Mdm Gangster wanted to demonstrate Ilhana's latest "achievement" to auntie "FB Bully". She asked Ilhana "Sape buchuk macham mama?"

Suddenly.......

Ilhana gave a "jelingan maut" to her Gangster Mama! That jelingan... That 1 look conveys a thousand words! Such as :

- Mama... must you tell everyone I'm Bucuk Macham!

- Mama! I am NOT Bucuk Macham (at least NOT in front of strangers!)

- Mama! You're embarassing me! I have a cute image to uphold here!

etc... etc...

Both Gangster Mama & FB Bully Auntie was shocked! Wow! At such tender age, she knows how to "Jeling!" & what a sharp 1 that was... We really regretted that it happened so fast that we did not manage to recover fast enough to take a photo of her 1st Jelingan!

Well Mama Gangster... That is 1 bundle of "trouble" you've got there... Looks like you have Gangster Jr in the making!

Stories of Storm - Yet Again!

Ok... I'll be "merciful"... It's not entirely about Storm (Again!); but her contribution is enough to warrant a title under her name (Again!)

But before I go into Storm's narration of her Karaoke session with Wolverine; I'd like to share about her own Karaoke session in the past first. I feel that it is important to share this other story to give a sense of how "unique" Storm & Wolverine's Karaoke session can be... ;-)

We (the ever patient office-mates) were told that she once sang "Phantom of the Opera" & she even found the Karaoke VCD to sing along to! Poor Wolverine had to sit through the whole session too (I'm sure the rest of us were thanking our lucky stars that we were not present in that "pre-historic" event)!

Now, knowing how amazing her Karaoke session was; what can possibly top that!?!

Well, apparently Wolverine sang "Beautiful Maria" & there's a section in the lyric that reads
"the taste of you remains"
which Wolverine accidentally sang (or was that on purpose??? Knowing the couple, it hard to guess...)
"the taste of your remains"

Naturally Storm picked this up... and her verdict was?
"Wolverine is a corpse-eating-cannibal"

Hmmm.... Imagine... That statement coming from someone who GURGLE & SLURP on her Maggie Cup Noodle (& may I add the classic "thumping" action!)

Until the next Storm saga... here's the "innocent" & constantly "horrified" author signing out... :-)

Stories of Storm - Again

Yes! It's Storm again... Contributing Blog materials to laugh over!

This time, she's having her usual in-office-maggie-cup-noodle-dinner. Half way down her "delicious" instant noodle, her hp rang (emmiting her trademark spooky ringtone from the movie "Psycho"!). She chatted on the phone & at the end of her conversation accidentally threw her plastic-maggie-cup-noodle-fork into the waste paper basket, only to realize too late that she still had noodles in her cup!

Oh Storm... What are we to do without your antics... :-)

If you think that was it... Well, obviously you don't know Storm... ;-p

She IM a friend of hers, mentioning about the incident & informing him that she's using her pencils to "fish" out her noodles. Her poor friend is duped yet again & offered to rush to her cubicle to offer the much needed missing fork! Having an ounce of mercy in her blessed Stormy soul, she stopped him from coming by informing that she's using her bare hands, so there's no need of the hassle. The poor guy must have fallen off his chair reading her admission...

Storm finally finished her cup noodle by turning the cup over & "thumping" the content down her throat (errr... yes... Storm is a woman who's as 'delicate' as a flower & shy away from the sun... unfortunately we can never jive the image with the antics...)!

When she told us (her poor terrorized office-mates) that she slurp down the content when "thumping" the content... I offered that you can never SLURP when you're thumping something down your throat! It should be more like a GURGLE! Slyly she looked at us & said... Exactly... I GURGLED, then I SLURPED!!...

Oh boy... The imagery!

Thanks Storm for the much needed office laughter amidst the BIG dark cloud of Voldy's presence.

Opppsss.... They Did It Again!

KTM did it again!!! I was at the Seremban station waiting for my train to KL Sentral this morning & guess what... 2 trains were cancelled (yet again...) & I finally board the train at 8am. Then, with 3 train loads of people crammed into 1 train, naturally there were no place to sit & normally if you have no place to sit at Seremban, you can expect to remain standing for the whole 1hr 15mins it takes to travel to KL. I was fortunate that there was 1 space after Nilai; but many were not as fortunate though.

Will need to remember to wear flats next time...

Jeezzz.....