Mad March

Wheee... things will get a little more exciting this month.

March 6
My brother's birthday. But eh, since I got the modem and the wireless router and applied for broadband and all, no need birthday present oredi la kan?

March 8
Yay! Got a decent-paying corporate dinner gig with my band of legal brothers. The boo bit is, it's a Thursday night and smack in town at Equatorial Hotel. Not to mention I have a pitch presentation in Sri Kembangan that afternoon. Aiyaiyai...

March 18
The 10km run. Training has been put on hold since I got sick a week before CNY. Then with all the running around during CNY, it was impossible (though I did run around my cousin's apartment block not once, but TWICE, that week... and I took the stairs to her 8th floor apartment). Ok ok... NO MORE EXCUSES from today on!

March 22
Got a jazz gig with a jazz band (friends of IZ, my usual band's leader) for a wedding function. I like doing weddings. Less stress, more fun.

March 30
Off I go to Kota Kinabalu with YL. And we're climbing on April Fools. Hehehe... how cool is that. Gonna start taking the stairs up to the office from now on.

Yipppeeeee!

Adrenaline crash

It's almost like a sugar crash.
Only you can't fix it as easily.

I guess it's the build up towards Christmas, what with the many gigs leading up to December since October. It was a non-stop work-rehearsal-work-gig-work-rehearsal-gig-gig kinda life. Tiring, but great fun. And now, I suddenly don't know what to do with myself. Hahaha!

It was really nice to have something to look forward to. And to tell the truth, I enjoyed the process more than the final product.

Anyway, gigs with the band of 'legal brothers' went reasonably well. I guess with functions and weddings, we were just out there having fun, with or without screw-ups. No stress. Our latest wedding gig at One Bangsar was cool. Lots of dancing. Lots of people were letting loose. It was nice to feel the energy from the audience.

The gig on Christmas Eve with Fancy Poultry went okay. Although I effed up here and there, haha. Couldn't hear myself sometimes, which I found out later was due to the way I held my mike (aiyaaa). A bad case of nerves didn't help either - soundman said I sounded more confident during the soundcheck (sigh). Felt like shooting myself. Good learning experience though.

Taking this week to slowly shake off the lethargy and bleh-ness.
Been too lazy to blog. Or work. Or do anything for that matter. Heck, even getting out of bed feels like a Herculean effort.

Yet to blog about my Christmas feast at home.
Yet to blog about my very shortlived, futile attempt at girly-ness.
And yet to do helluvalotta things I'm supposed to do before the year is out. Sigh. Will do so as soon as I step out of the fog that is my brain at this moment.

Shameless Self-Promo

We're singing a capella, some jazzed up Christmas carols with GruvAvenue and a standard or two. It'll be fun :D

Free admission.
10pm onwards, Christmas Eve,
Bangkok Jazz, Chulan Square, KL

Come la! Don't let it be a Silent Night.

A very short long weekend

Love?
I saw Cinta on Saturday. When D suggested we watch it I was more than hesitant. Not that I have little faith in locally made movies (heh). But well...

The movie exceeded my expectations with well-developed characters and a good cast (mostly). Datuk Rahim Razali (Cikgu Elyas) was a joy to watch. As was Fatimah Abu Bakar (Rubiah). There was nothing over the top about this movie. Everything was understated, making it real and believable. I also loved how they featured the quaint parts of KL we don't see in our perpetual hurry.

The movie was a little like Love Actually, but Cinta's more than a fuzzy feel-gooder. It showed me what love meant to different people and made me think about what it meant to me, in its many different aspects. I teared at some parts, and I rarely cry at the movies. No spoiler here, so go watch it yourself.


The Bum
Bought John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley in Search of America from Pay Less Books.

I have too many unread books on my shelf at the moment. But I couldn't resist this one. Firstly, it's Steinbeck. Secondly, there's a dog in the book. Thirdly, the synopsis didn't sound as depressing as his previous books (this one's kinda like a little memoir). And last but not least, it was all of RM8.90. Wheeee!

I couldn't put it down and read half the book before I forced by myself to stop at 3am. From the very first page, I could relate to what he felt when he was 58. Although I hope I don't have to wait another 30 years before I actually do something about it. Here's an excerpt from page 1.

"When I was very young and the urge to be someplace else was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch. When years described me as mature, the remedy prescribed was middle age. In middle age I was assured that greater age would calm my fever and now that I am fifty-eight, perhaps senility will do the job.

Nothing has worked. Four hoarse blasts of a ship's whistle still raise the hair on my neck and set my feet to tapping. The sound of a jet, an engine warming up, even the clopping of shod hooves on pavement brings on the ancient shudder, the dry mouth and vacant eye, the hot palms and the churn of the stomach high up under the rib cage.

In other words, I don't improve; in further words, once a bum, always a bum. I fear the disease is incurable. I set this matter down not to instruct others but to inform myself.

When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, the road away from Here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must first find in himself a good and sufficient reason for going... [ ]"

Sigh.


Painful Ankle
I went to the gym. The pain in my ankle (goodness knows where that came from) plaguing me off and on for the past week put a stop to my running after just 5 minutes on the treadmill. Crap.

I ended up hobbling around Subang Parade Christmas shopping. I don't think all the extra walking did me any good. But ah... some retail therapy made me feel so much better. Bought a big bulk of gifts from MPH. Renewed my MRC membership. And saw TWO books I wanted to buy. Mark Haddon's A Spot Of Bother and Mitch Albom's For One More Day. But good girl me resisted. Must wait till the paperbacks come out. MUST wait. Hard cover so expensive lah. Tsk tsk.


Rehearsals
Saturday morning - the band.
We still don't have a name.
Any suggestions for a band of 4 lawyers and a copywriter?
4 Legals and A Gal? Nah.
Next gig, a wedding on the 22nd.

Sunday and Monday night - Fancy Poultry.
And more Poultry rehearsals coming Wednesday and Thursday.
Stressed out now cos we only have ONE practice session with Gruvavenue (the band performing with us) this Sunday before the Bangkok Jazz gig on Christmas eve. For some strange reason I'm NOT looking forward to this one too much.


Only in Malaysia...
...you can have a breakfast of yao char koay (fried dough sticks) with kopi-o, chee cheong fun and prawn mee in a coffeeshop, THEN walk to the mamak shop behind it for more drinks. Cheap and good.


Turkey scouting
Shockers.
Cold Storage Summit Subang - RM16.90/kg
Cold Storage Subang Parade - RM19.99/kg
Giant Kelana Jaya - RM16.99/kg
Village Grocer, Bangsar Village - RM18.99/kg

The price difference comes up to alot when an average turkey is around 5kg. No prizes for guessing where I'll be buying my turkey.


I love supermarkets
- I love them. I can browse the shelves for a long, long time.
Today I bought purple potatoes. They're like purple inside out. And Bosc pears. I love pears. And I wanted to get the Carlsberg Christmas Honey Beer but they were sold out. Hmmph.

- I realise I could be a little obsessive compulsive (if so I must have gotten it from my mom... NOOOOOOOO!!!). I found myself rearranging chocolate bars that were in disarray on a shelf. Then I saw another shelf in disarray and felt very, very annoyed. Strangely, I don't feel that way about my room or my work desk.

- Lots of pre-made stuffing on sale. And pre-made gravy. Oh how I'm turning my nose up at those.

- I don't understand this deep feeling of satisfaction when I walk into the non-halal (non-kosher) section. And the little twinge that tells me I should've bought something, ANYTHING, when I leave.

- There are PINK Smarties in Cold Storage. PINK! Nearly RM20. Nuts.

- Kids shouldn't be allowed to push trolleys. I was tempted to roll over one with mine.

Confessions of a cough syrup junkie

I've been coughing really badly since last Wednesday.
And sounding like the love child of Darth Vader and Chewbacca.

I still do. But maybe less of Chewbacca now.
The cough still annoys me to no end though.
Only upside, I have good reason to take Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa. I love that stuff. I'm only suppose to take 3 tablespoons a day. But I finished one and a half bottles over the past few days. Mmmmm... and that doesn't count the Nin Jiom candy I pop into my mouth. Hehehe.

Then I was told Nin Jiom only relieves the cough. It doesn't fix it. So I went to the pharmacy to get a good cough syrup and something to get rid of my phlegm (cos the one given by my company doctor was crap). The pharmacist recommended Tussidex Forte Linctus (the nasty tasting, sarsi-flavoured syrup) and Mucolator, a powdered, dissolve-in-water orange tasting expectorant. After just one dose yesterday, I felt the difference. Ah... quick. I want my voice back! Arrrggh!

Anyway. My last band gig on Thursday (some young lawyers' trivia nite), I couldn't sing at all. I couldn't bleat Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, much less do an Amy Lee. The guys had to do all the singing that day, while I stayed behind the keyboards. We did pretty alright and there was even an improvement on some songs from SY&HM's wedding, so that was good. Hung out at a mamak after that to chat, then bitched about having to work the next day. Obviously the late night didn't help my cough at all. I zombied through most of Friday.

Saturday morning was LL & MT's wedding at Holy Rosary church. It was beautiful. I love that church. Classic mosaic tiles. Pretty stained glass windows all round. If I were to ever get married, I want my wedding in that church.

LL looked nervous with his smile frozen in place, while MT looked the part of the glowing bride. After meeting her dad, LY and I saw where MT got her quirky sense of humour. He's a riot.

Their dinner was held the following night in Cheras. Getting there was a navigation nightmare. Good thing we went early and arrived before it got dark and rained heavily. The highlight of the evening was the video they made to tell their 'story'. It was hilarious and so well done. I loved how they took a jab at typical wedding photo-shoot slideshows (you know, those with corny love songs in the background).

This was the second time I saw a 'video' of this sort. The last being at LN's wedding in January. That was really funny. It's always such a relief to see something different at a wedding. Especialy when you've been attending at least one every month for the past year.

Damn. I really need to get rid of this effing cough. Fancy Poultry (we now have a blog!) rehearsals for our Christmas show have begun and I'm not of much use until I sound more human. I'm starting to feel a little stressed out. Doing a show at a venue like Bangkok Jazz means the audience are more discerning. We really have to make our show work. God help us.

Red hair, rock music & a canine party

That pretty sums up my weekend.

The haircut and colour.
I left it to the stylist to do what she wanted, after seeing the great chop job she did on LY's hair. She asked me how I wanted my hair done. And as always, I liked giving the stylist a creative free hand (I know what it feels like to be stifled by clients). I showed her some references in a magazine but told her she could have fun with my hair if she wanted.

The references I chose were uncannily like my last haircut a couple of months ago (read: boring). She said she'll give me something 'more fun', that is if I'm cool with 'fun'.

I glanced at her blond crop with bright pink streaks and swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Erm, OK. But not 'toooo' fun, ok? I don't know if I can take it."

After assuring me that she had a cool style in mind for me, she went to work.

The result - a shorter crop, with sharp angles at the side of my face and nape of my neck. The colour - a light coppery brown with red streaks. For the first two days, my hair looked more orange then brown. Now it's toned down somewhat, and I'm glad I don't look like Garfield anymore. Overall, I like it. Now I look less 'sleepy'.

The band.
We have a gig for a Bar Council event this Thursday. And we're playing mostly rock songs. Although I do enjoy some rock music, I was never a real fan of this genre. But rock is so cathartic. Syok sial!

We're doing some Radiohead, Good Charlotte, Creed, Bon Jovi, Black Crows, Jet, Howie Day, Snow Patrol and Evanescence. As well as some of the older songs we did for SY&HM's wedding from The Police, Wham and Duran Duran.

Doggy Party.
I finally had the very belated birthday party for Sunshine and got a few of my doggy lover friends over. Between 8 two-legged and 3 four-legged guests, we devoured fried meehoon (made by YL) with my Nyonya Curry Chicken (from the Nyonya cookbook I bought), deep fried chicken (from JK), fruit salad and dumplings (from SW), fresh sweet mangoes (frm JL) and drinks from Geekchic and her husband.



Sunshine thanks all of you for the being there. For your gifts. For the food. And for the sayangs. Wuff Wuff!!

Sayang

Mia Palencia's new single* has been out since September. If you loved her in Double Take, you'll love her first solo single. This very talented young lady wrote it in Malay, the only Malay song in her coming album (all self-written, no less). It's beautiful. Go to her website and take a listen. I love the seruling (traditional flute) bits.

Fancy Poultry (Nic, KL and myself, this time round) had the privilege of singing back up vocals for Mia on this single. It was a nice, informal recording session late one night at her producer Hardesh's place. After which she treated us to some pizza (my first time having pizza from the Canadian Pizza chain - in case you haven't tried, it's kick-ass**).

Oh yeah! Fancy Poultry is scheduled for a gig on Christmas Eve. Venue and time to be revealed to us by the organisers (we don't understand what the secrecy is all about)! Will let you know as soon as we know ;)

Fun! Fun! Fun!


* Available at The Guitar Store and MPH outlets for RM15. Single includes 2 other songs, such as 'Dreams' which will not be in her coming album.

** Go for the Mexican Fiesta - lean ground beef, red chillis, jalapenos, onions and capsicums. Sedap gila! Available only in Bangsar, Taman Tun, PJ and Subang Jaya areas. Call 1-300-880-241.

Wedding Jam

If I receive another wedding invitation in the next few years months, it'd be too soon. As it is, there are still 2 more weddings to attend until end of this year.

It's been coming at a steady stream of one wedding a month, culminating in the ultimate wedding overdose over the past 2 weekends. Just last week was BW & RT's wedding. Then it was WLY & CG's wedding on Saturday. And the day after, SY & HM's. Thing is, they are good friends of mine, and as good friends go, you become a 'sister' or ji mui. In BW & RT's case, BW is LY's brother, and her family has become like my own, so it was an occasion I couldn't miss.

SY & HM's wedding was especially fun for me though. Largely because I got roped into a band. The guys are HM's friends from legal practice (both SY & HM are lawyers) and boy, they are GOOD. The initial plan was for me to sing a song or two with the band backing me up. But IZ, the band leader, asked if I'd like to play with them. My itch to jam could not resist, so I took up the offer after warning them that I'd never really jammed with a band before. That my guitar fingers were way rusty. And that I hadn't touched my saxophone in 3-4 years.

Everything went well though. We were playing top 40 hits, songs from the 80s, Beatles and stuff. Nothing too overwhelming. And I was enjoying every minute of it. Before this band, I was (and still am) singing acapella with Fancy Poultry. It's great fun, and I miss them when we have no gigs in the pipeline. But I didn't realise how much I missed making music with a bunch of people until I started jamming with these guys. I was once again reminded me that I am happiest when doing this.

My favourite two songs from our performance last nite were Let's Dance (David Bowie) and Rio (Duran Duran). It was an 80s music reawakening for me. Never knew I would enjoy it so much. My limited sax vocabulary meant I could only play in limited keys. The guys were kind enough to accomodate my limitations though. Hehe.

Good news is, they want me to play with them long term. And they do get gigs every now and then. So I'm looking forward to more. We don't have a band name, but I think we are unofficially called The Backbreakers (IZ has a bad back from a slipped disk). IZ plays the bass, and he's got this beautiful Fender (I think) in a vintage case. We rehearse in the "mini studio" in his house (the living room upstairs), much to the chagrin of his wife when we create a ruckus in their peaceful sururban home.

MH and GL play lead and rhythm guitar respectively and both have great voices. These guys play and sing like they really enjoy it, simply because they do. And then there's CC, who's a treat to watch at the drums. I wish I had hand and leg coordination like that. I can't even shake a tambourine properly (confession: I have a weak sense of rhythm :P).

Anyway, the crowd enjoyed our music and danced late into the night, eventhough it was a working day today. I got home past 1am and I was still on an adrenaline rush I couldn't sleep until 3am. So it's me on autopilot, typing away right now.

Oh. And I'm so happy I bought a sax stand and this thing that looks like a feather duster to protect the inside from moisture. WOOHOO! Always wanted to get them but I thought, "What for? I hardly play it anymore." Now I have a good reason to. And IZ helped me get 20% off at Bentley's. Wah, good to have connections. Hee hee.

I'm so glad tomorrow's a public holiday.
Damn, I should've taken today off.

Oh, I was tagged by Mint Chutney for this meme. This one's quite free and easy. Let's see...

8 Things About Myself

1. I'm a pushover. I find it hard to say no to people I'm close to. Some say I should stop being "so nice" or I'd be taken advantage of one day. Sometimes I don't know how to draw the line. Some people call it 'giving'. Some call it stupid. I don't know. I just do what I feel is right. I don't think too much about it.

2. I love music. And I can't help moving and bopping and shaking my head to a song. Any song. Even in public. I look like a spaz when I do that.

3. I'm overly idealistic and optimistic. But that has decreased somewhat with age. Still, I never learn that a perfect world exists only in my mind and in fiction.

4. I can't sleep if I don't brush my teeth.

5. I'm a boring drunk. A cheap one too. Doesn't take alot to knock me out.

6. I hate the sound of running tap water. Long story. I also hate the sound of styrofoam rubbing against something. That, I can't explain.

7. While I'm generally bubbly most of the time, I have my dark and morbid days. I tell people that a comet should crash into earth and wipe out the human race. Let the animals rule the world. Being less 'evolved', they have an excuse for always trying to kill each other. Wait a minute. That sounds like a movie, doesn't it?. Oh, never mind.

8. I hate politics. I don't read the papers if I can help it. I also hate being ignorant. But it's less depressing when you are.

I tag Itchy Feet, Geekchic, Shryh, Yules, Spot and Snowie.

Of pirates and doctors

I love Dr House.

I love his methodical yet lateral way of thinking, caustic remarks and sarky comebacks.

And thanks to my own personal pirate (who wears pretty pink eye patches and a nicely manicured hook), I now have in my possession, 2 seasons of Dr House.

I saw 3 episodes back to back last night on my laptop.
But not before my Windows Media Player gave some problems and would only play the sound, sans video. I tried opening the file with other software. Cannot also.

A phone call to said pink pirate solved the problem.

"Oh sorry, I forgot to give you the KODAK. I'll email it to you lah, Nut."

"KODAK? Er... okay. Whatever that is."
Thinks to myself, "Kodak now deals with video compatibility software too?"

So she sends me the software. Some dunno-what-VID-dunno-what.
Then I opened my WMP again, and saw this at the bottom of the screen, 'Error downloading codec'.

OH. Codec.
Whatever.

"Geek ah, I open the video file with the CODEC thing ah?"

"No la... just install it. Then open with WMP can oredi."

"OH."

It worked. God bless her (and have mercy on our souls).

Now she can fly...

After almost 3 months languishing in joblessness (of which 2 months were spent on crutches nursing a broken ankle from our holiday), LY has been offered a job. She starts next week, with one of Malaysia's up and coming airlines, no less.

No, she's not about to become an air stewardess, but she WILL have to commute all the way to the LCCT (Low Cost Carrier Terminal), where the Air Asia headquarters is located. She'll be in the marketing department, and one of the perks include 6 free air tickets to any Air Asia destinations a year. YAY! YAY! HURRAY!

But of course, this is not the only reason why she's my best friend. *blinks innocently*

Looks like her bumming days are over.
And she's missing it already :)

She's got a job to do!

Miss Day, my lovely octogenarian neighbour, had another birthday recently. I took her out for dinner last night and she looked not a day over 65.

I wanted to bring her to Las Carretas in Taipan, USJ, a Mexican restaurant. But when we got there, it wasn't there anymore! So we ended up having dinner Kopitiam-style where Las Carretas used to be.

Her vigour and cheerfulness despite her painful old joints were a big contrast to my moody dragging-of-feet. But darn me if her joy wasn't infectious. I simply love this old lady.

After summarising what's been happening in her life and then mine, she grabbed my hand and told me, "That's that. Just let go and let God take care of everything. God loves you."

Somehow, I always knew that at a cerebral level.
But I never really felt it. Not until now.
Through her touch and her dark, black cherry eyes, I felt God was trying to remind me that He's always within reach. If only I would depend on Him a little bit more instead of marching off into the sunset like some macho cowgirl who don't need no one.

We talked about so many things. And she wondered why God had not taken her home. She's tired, and ready. But every day, God would tell her that there is still so much for her to do. And if you knew what this woman gets up to, you wouldn't be surprised.

She lives alone (most days), sleeps only 4 hours a day and spends the rest of her time counselling troubled people from her church, praying for others, potter around the house and running her own errands. She even drives all the way to Tesco in Mutiara Damansara from Subang Jaya to do her grocery shopping.

Did I mention she's 81?

To me, it's obvious why she's still around.
God has given her a job to do - to bless people around her with her love and radiance. To show them that in life, there is joy in adversity. And to help them see that there is something much bigger than themselves.

Here's to Miss Day's good health.
Amen.

Thanks for the postcards!

All the way from Italy, I received a postcard with a recipe, no less, for pesto ala Genovese. If only I could read Italian... How did Snowie & Spot guess that pesto is my favourite pasta sauce (and savoury bread spread!)? I love it with fettucine, topped with parmesan shavings, freshly ground black pepper, and for a fuller meal, some chicken breast grilled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Mama mia! Thanks, you two! I hope you guys ate and took lots of pictures of REAL Italian food! :D



And from Down Under, there was a postcard from Perth, where the Chic Geek was on holiday, getting melancholic over her days as an Aussie uni student in Melbourne. I know how you feel babe. Australia is 'home' in more ways than we can say.

While we're on the topic of postcards, here are some I've received since I started collecting them. Courtesy of new friends I've made here on blogosphere:



And old friends who've had the opportunity to travel quite a bit, to places like London, Rome, Florence, the Vatican, Belgium, Greece, Paris, Montreal, Monaco, Phuket, Kathmandu. *Most of these pictures are of two postcards in each.

Shryh, Geekchic & Wandernut meet!

Geekchic was in town from Penang yesterday, a quick stop before her flight down under. So she took the opportunity to catch up with Shryh (who also happened to be in town) and me for brunch.



Chit chat. Rant. Laugh. Chit chat.
It was fun meeting Geekchic and her other half JS again, and Shryh for the first time. Not to mention the food was really lovely as the following pictures would illustrate.

We went to Marmalade, Mont Kiara (I first went there with LY a few weeks ago) for their lovely salads and desserts. Mmm mmmm...


Mushroom Bruschetta


Pear & Pumpkin Salad


Sounds of Havana Salad


Mozzarella Sandwich


Mushroom Quiche


Lemon Lime Tart


Apple Crumble

All these washed down with 4 lattes between us.

Good company, good food.
What more can you ask for on a Saturday afternoon.

Wish I was there...

My friend YL just spent 3 weeks in Spain on her "I'm in between jobs" holiday.

As usual, I requested for postcards (I love postcards) and she sent me one from every city she visited.


Barcelona


Madrid & Cordoba, Seville & Granada

Her last such holiday was 2 years ago when she went to Rome and Florence in Italy (I shall add pix of the postcards she sent me in this post soon). Spot and Snowie are going next week. Envy envy envy! Send postcard boleh kah?

Sigh. Spain and Italy.
Definitely in my "Places to see before I die" list.
If only I had more 'kaching-kaching' and annual leave to travel out of South East Asia. In the meantime, it's Cambodia and Thailand two weeks from now. Wooooohoooo!

Rawa Island

Rawa has to be the most beautiful island I've ever been to in Malaysia.



Lovely sunsets.



Clear blue water and fine powdery sand.



Corals just a few feet from the beach.



A jetty you can jump off from.



Nemo and other pretty fish say hello.



There was really nothing to do but to snorkel,



... fish (with rotting squid as bait),



... sun worship (unlike this girl, we kept our clothes on),



... explore the lonely jetty on the otherside,



... read,


... eat,


... and sleep.



It was good.



Some highlights:

- Jumping off the jetty into the sea at low tide.

It was a good 10-15ft drop.
It took me helluva long time to jump cos I was scared shit! D had a good laugh at how chicken I was. I'm not afraid of heights, b-b-but...

What if the fish saw me as a huge piece of bait...

Or or or... what if I fell the wrong way and knocked my head against the side of the jetty and drowned...

Or or or what if there were sharks / sea monsters / piranhas (yes D, I KNOW they don't live in these parts!)...

Or or or (fill in the blanks with the worse imaginable).

But I was glad I did it. Not only because my pride was at stake - a 10 year-old Danish boy simply ran and catapulted himself off the edge while I was making excuses not to (what if my bikini top came off!!). So heck, if the little boy could do it, I should be able too! And if my over 80kg boyfriend could jump in without sinking to the bottom, hey, I probably wouldn't either. Hee hee.

Here's my splash.



And here's D after his jump, climbing back up the jetty. Note the school of fish swimming in the water below.




- Fishing galore.
I haven't had so much fun fishing.
The tug at the rod. The fight. The reeling in.
Although we released every fish we caught, I felt really guilty for subjecting them to the hook in the name of sport. Sigh.

This fella looks a lot bigger than its actual size.



This box fish (or a puffer fish?) was caught by the same 10 year-old boy at the jetty jump.



- Biawak under our chalet.
We left our stinking squid outside our chalet for fishing the next day. Only to find a biawak, no, a HUGE biawak making it its lunch while we were out having ours. Did I say it was HUGE?



If you wanna try Rawa for your next holiday, just click on its website. It is slightly pricier than Redang and Perhentian, but I would say it was quite worth it. And almost worth the 6-hour ass-numbing bus ride from KL to Mersing.

:)

My chaboh (girl in hokkien dialect)

At TSB Bangsar, on our "10th Anniversary", 8 Jan 2006.

IACT, 1996
I first met LY on the first day of college.
She was probably the friendliest, prettiest looking girl in class with her dimpled smile and curly wurly hair.

I remember lunch on that first day at the corner coffeeshop. LY ate with a shy, quiet girl from class, while I was with another classmate I knew from my high school. I remember LY had char koay teow and the pig in me thought, damn, I should've ordered that cos it looked better than my pork noodles.

Before long, LY and I became best of friends. And we'd been inseparable since. Her house became my second home and every Saturday morning, we had a tosai and 'teh tarik' ritual at our favourite breakfast place, Sri Gangka, near her house. Sometimes it was just the both of us, sometimes with her family. Even her extended family got to know me and included me in their gatherings. How cool's that?

The 3 years in college were great times. I'd hang out at her place after classes if we were not out with the gang. And we'd play the piano and sing, no, wail at the top of our voices. Once, even into a microphone as we recorded ourselves. Hahaha.

Every year, our college gang would go for little trips to the islands and we'd all get drunk on the beach. One time LY and another friend bruised each other up playing football on the sand while intoxicated. It was rather funny.

When LY started dating DM, she'd take me along on some of their 'dates' in his big grey van. DM was also our classmate and we hung out in the same group anyway, so it didn't occur to me that I was a big shiny lamp post. And we had good CLEAN fun, mind you.

DM and LY had a beautiful relationship and they were together for about 5 years. They were good friends who turned into lovers. Even though they parted ways only 3 years ago and are now friends again, I still think he's the 'best fit' for her. Sigh.

CSU, Bathurst, Australia, 1999
We went to CSU with over 20 people from IACT. And for the first time in their relationship, LY and DM could spend alot of quality time together (LY's folks didn't approve of her dating so young back home, you see). I also started seeing someone then, so LY and I only saw each other at lectures and dinner time (we took turns to cook, and DM was our official chicken-butcher man). Or when we went partying. Even when we didn't spend that much time together, we knew we'd always have each other.

It was an amazing year for all of us. And before we left Australia, we had a wonderful holiday at Port Stephens, near Newcastle, 2 hours north of Sydney. Beautiful beaches that stretched out to the horizon. Sand dunes. Boating. Small islands. And that carefree feeling we didn't know we would never feel again.

LY and I still talk about it. It was probably the best time of our lives.

Unfortunately, we graduated.
So we had to join the real world.
Got a job. You know, like other adults.

We resumed our Saturday morning tosai and 'teh tarik' ritual at Sri Gangka. Sometimes, it was dinner or supper. No matter how busy we were, we made it a point to get together every now and then.

I got to know some of her colleagues who also became my friends. They sometimes referred to me as her other half. While we found it funny at first, we soon realised that dammit, we were so spoiling our market! But of course, our guy friends would always say it's okay as long as they get to watch. Bastards. Heh.

We WERE being watched.
One funny story was when she became my 'sponsor' at RCIA, a course I was taking to become Catholic. LY's a born-Catholic, so she volunteered to be my 'guide' throughout the course (a year-long one at that).

Our group's facilitator was a funny old man. You see, I would scratch her back for her when it got itchy in class (she's got very bad eczema). And sometimes we'd lean against each other when our backs were too lazy to support ourselves.

One night, towards the end of the course, he said to us, "I've been observing both of you for a long time. It's okay you know. As long as you come to church, lead a good and holy life, it's quite acceptable to me, maybe not the church, but I'm okay."

We laughed so hard we nearly died on the spot. We told him in between guffaws that it's not what it looked like. He probably didn't believe us, cos since then, he still gave us knowing looks.

Holidays! Holidays!
We went for our first girly holiday to Pangkor Island a few years ago and decided to make it an annual affair. It was always Pangkor or Langkawi Island (when we were earning pittance). Then in 2004, we had our first overseas holiday together in Bali for a week. I must say that was the best holiday ever. Two single girls. Lots of sun, sand and sea. Adventure (we hopped on 2 motorbikes to watch a festival in a remote village). Shopping. Spas. And er, moonlight dinners on the beach. Under the moonlit sky with sand between our toes, we looked at each other...

"YOU AGAIN AH!", and shook our heads in mock misery.

This year, we plan to go to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat and maybe visit abit of Thailand along the way. Can't wait!

And oh, it's her birthday!
LY turns 28 tomorrow.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHABOH! LARP YA! :D

Happy Valentine's Day

A friend, E, who's the marketing manager at Bangkok Jazz asked me if my usual singing group would like to perform at her joint on Valentine's Day. Most of them were involved in a stage production at the moment. Only me and D were available, and E asked if we could come up with something anyway.

We put together a show called "A Cynic's Valentine's Day". Figured that there were probably enough lovey-dovey romance-romance type of gigs going on everywhere in town. So we sang songs of heartbreak and loneliness last night and it was quite an experience.

For one, it's the first time D and I performed together in public, in our own act. We were both nervous wrecks because we didn't clock in alot of practice time. And it didn't help that we were both so busy the past 2 weeks and could only squeezed in some practice whenever we could.

Not to mention we only rehearsed with their band yesterday afternoon itself. The band was really good. But D and I being well, amateurs in more ways than one, we would've been more confident if we had more practice with them.

The crowd was pretty decent and some of them were friends. So we warmed up after awhile. And overall they seemed to have enjoyed themselves.

More importantly, D and I had fun.
And it was a memorable Valentine's Day for us, albeit a stressful one!



D surprised me with some flowers earlier that day. Thank God it was bought from a charity drive at his workplace, so it's money spent for a good cause (and not to pad the coffers of over-priced florists).

What did I get him?
Err.. what do I get a guy who already has the best thing he can get?

Moi.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Absolute Gluttony

My friends know me well.
And feed me well.

Birthdays generally lose their sparkle after the age of 10. But that's fine when you have some wonderful friends who take you out for good food. And alot of it.

So I turned 28, well fed, and with good company!

The glutton's paradise:

2 Feb
Lunch with colleagues at the Paris Coffeeshop, SS 2 PJ
Yee Sang, Steamed Fish in Bean Sauce, Stir Fried Vegetables, Homemade Tofu with Preserved Veges and Mince, Champagne Chicken, Guinness Stout Ribs, Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab and Kam Heong Lala (Fragrant Clams).
- The Guinness Stout Ribs (a pile of really dark, glazed meat) and Champagne Chicken (served in a half-watermelon shell) were simply AMAZING.

BEFORE:


AFTER:



Dinner with D at NeroVivo, Ceylon Hill, KL
Seafood Antipasto (with Scallop, Mussle, Baby Octopus, Calamari in small servings, prepared in different styles), Veal Ragout Fettucine, Red-wine Beef Ravioli in Truffle Scented Mascaporne Sauce, 12-Min Chocolate Cake and Gelati



*Dessert is not shown here cos they were half eaten by the time I remembered to take a picture.

- Nerovivo is a small, cosy (and I dare say, romantic) restaurant in what used to be an old bungalow on a little hill. The antipasto platter was lovely. The two pastas were... well, interesting. As for dessert, the 12-min Chocolate Cake can't compare to TSB's Chocolate Volcano, but the gelati was yummy. If only they weren't served on a big flat plate though. Scooping ice cream off a flat surface was quite a challenge.


3 Feb
Steamboat dinner with ex-colleagues at Coco, BSC
It was so nice to be with the old DDBi gang again. Catching up. Reminiscing. And laughing about one particular person whose existence in the agency (or on earth) is a real joke. It's amazing how every time we get together, there are always several new stories to remind us that some people were created, just for the heck of it. If you know anyone more unethical, selfish, inhuman or daft, I'd be pleasantly surprised. Now, that's enough blog space wasted on this freak of humanity. Ahem.


Oh, SW got this really delicious cake from Chef Jerome. It's SO SO GOOD!


4 Feb
Buffet dinner with LY at Rennaisance Hotel, KL
My gawd. I think I ate enough here to last me the whole week! Fresh oysters, sashimi, smoked salmon, an array of antipasto, soup, baked salmon, roast beef, a chocolate section, Haagen Daaz ice cream, delicious bread and a variety of cheeses, lots of cakes, fresh strawberries and cream, pralines, salads... er, well, that was all I could stomach from the spread.


*I gave up taking pictures after this first plate, cos it would mean taking my camera out of my bag too many times. Heh.

After all that food, we took a walk down Lebuh Ampang to kehpoh-kepoh abit. It was really a whim, and it being a nice breezy night for a change, made the walk quite pleasant. Then we remembered that M.O. had a really nice resident jazz band. So we made our way there and sat down for some really nice tea, served in even nicer silver (waahhhh).





5 Feb
Dinner with some dear friends at Wong Poh Seafood, PJ
We had Cheese Crabs, Guiness Stout Crabs, Marmite Crabs, Marmite Mantis Prawns, Mantou and Veges. It was delish delish delish. And so much fun too, as always! I was so full from stuffing my face and laughing all night. Anticipating the crabs, I thought it was a bad idea to bring my camera when my hands would be too greasy and stained to take pictures. Now I wish I had! Dammit!


What can I say? You lot are wonderful.
Thanks for the food, the pressies and most of all, the love.