Whenever ....Whatever...

Curry puffs- my first attempt

2012-01-09T06:27:00.002+08:00

My mentor actually decided to throw a "surprise" birthday party for me at work tomorrow. But guess what? Instead of a "surprise", he had accidentally sent me the birthday invitation instead last Friday! lol!

But it was all good as I have already decided to bring some food to office tomorrow too. As my marble cake failed, I decided to make some curry puffs instead. Curry puffs should be a good introduction to my Hungarian colleagues as it is a popular Malaysian snack.

It took me a total 6 hours to make these curry puffs! Boy, it sure is alot of work but definitely worth it when we eat them! :P

Started with the dough. I kneaded the dough and rest it in the fridge for half and hour before I started. I've been told that the dough must always be in cool temperature!

I cooked the fillings the day before. It was potato curry with minced meat.

Next, flatten the dough. As I did not have a rolling pin, I used a flask instead! lol!

Well, as long as it did the job well!

Next, make the circles. I used a glass mug.

Here's a view of my "workstation"..basically this is on my dining table! :P

Put in the fillings into the dough, seal the sides and roll up the sides, voila, here's my uncooked curry puffs!

Deep fry them...and absorb the oil with napkins and left them to cool.

After the puffs cooled down, I packed them into tupperwares and they were ready to go! :)

Happy Birthday 2012

2012-01-09T06:06:00.001+08:00

Happy Birthday to myself!! hehe...

This morning, I got a lovely surprise when I woke up. As I looked out to my balcony, all I see was white!! It was snowing!!! It sure make my day! Only yesterday, we were complaining that the temperature here is too "hot" for winter...temperature was around 3 degrees celcius the day before yesterday..and having experienced below freezing temperature for the past months, yes, this temperature is considered warm for us now! lol!

The snow!!

How I wish this would stay so that I could build my snowman!! :)

Gosh...one year older again...this year, it's my first birthday after my marriage. Also, it's the first time I'm celebrating it here in Hungary away from hubby. How I missed him! :(

Counting down of the days I'm heading home which is another 3 months away!!

I decided to bake a marble cake yesterday inconjunction with my birthday but unfortunately my mission failed!! :(...I must have put too much chocolate and the cake ended up too crumbly and became like brownies instead!

Out from the oven, and the chocolate bits were burnt! :(

Since it's crumbly, it broke into two :(..

Oh well, I'll try again next time....

I was lucky as my colleague decided to cook for me and the best part is they baked me a marble cake too! Great!! :)

Check out the marble cake baked by my friend, SP.

All the mouth-watering dishes!!

Clockwise from top right: Vegetarian tomyam soup, marble cake, belachan chicken wings, fried turnip cake and lastly steamed fungus chicken.

Here's the dish I contributed.

My mom's specialty: steamed fungus chicken with fermented bean+vinegar.

Yummy!

Thanks to all of them! Great people!

And I know I will miss this experience when I go home!

Happy New Year 2012

2011-12-29T17:15:00.001+08:00

I can't believe 2011 is ending and 2012 is just 3 days away. I have been religiously writing my resolution each year but I am far from achieving all of them. Here's a recap of my 2011 resolutions:

1. Stop Procrastination - I need to be more proactive and perform the tasks I have listed according to priority. ---> I still need to work on this, procrastination is still one of my bad habits.

2. Time management - I need to rise early and go to bed early. To get to work by 8 am and get home by 6pm --> I achieved this unintentionally since I usually get to work by 7.30am, sharing a taxi with the rest of my colleagues. I need to keep this routine when I get home.
3. Health - Exercise at least 3 times a week! (swimming and going to the gym) -->Failed. Basically, no exercise when I'm here (except when I'm travelling!). I need to work on this!
4. Finance - Start a passive income channel (e.g: online biz, gold investment) --> Still nothing :(
5. Work - Improve on my programming skills (NI SW and scripting) --> Still lacking, need to improve!
6. Attitude - Improve on my self belief and confidence! --> Need more work!
7. Lifestyle - Read at least 1 book a quarter and learn to bake cake! --> Baking cakes, yes,but book...err nope :(

My 2012 New Year Resolutions:

1. Family : Spend more time with my hubby & family. I have been away from home too long.
2. Lifestyle : Cook 3 meals a week at home.
                  : Bake at least once a month.
3. Health   : Continue with my yoga class.
                  : Swim once a week
                  : Eat my oats 4 times a week & loads of fibre and fruits
4. Financial : Start stock investment.
                   : Business ideas
                   : Increase my home loan mortgage payment by 50%.
                   : Read financial & economic news every week!
5. Work : Write automation scripts.
             : Process improvement ideas (at least 1 per quarter)
             : Study work material 2 times a week
6. Attitude : Improve on my concentration!
                   : Socialise more with friends.
                   : Improve on my Self-belief

Alright, I have to make sure I stick to this and stay true to my resolutions!!!

Happy New Year everyone!! :)

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T16:27:00.001+08:00

Finally it snowed in Debrecen on the 17th December 2011.
We decided to go to the city center that day since there is a Christmas Market there too. Colorful lights, fresh snow and freezing cold, definitely brought in the Christmas spirit!

It's snowing! or "esik a hó" (in Hungarian!). There's a big Christmas tree in front of the Yellow church too!

I decided to bake some Christmas cuppies and muffins for my colleagues...The muffins baked were very healthy and wholesome wholewheat banana honey walnut muffins!

The bigger muffins doesn't look very presentable, thus I decided to give the smaller cupcakes to my colleagues instead.

All wrapped up, with homemade Christmas greeting cards.

On 19th December, some of my colleagues came over to my apartment for some Palinka shots prior to our annual Manufacturing dinner which is held at the same apartment I stayed at.

A newcomer to the family

2011-12-11T23:26:00.001+08:00

Presenting my lil' niece, E Jean..

Please mind the photo quality, picture was captured from my webcam!
Isn't she a cutie? :)

My first banana walnut cake

2011-12-11T23:24:00.000+08:00

It's a lazy weekend. Rather than doing nothing, I decided to bake a cake since I have all the basic baking ingredients needed. While scouring through the web for some ideas of what to bake, I decided to bake a banana walnut cake since I have a few over-ripe bananas sitting in the fridge. Also, since I am a novice in cake-baking, banana cake seems like a good choice since it is touted to be one of the simplest cake to make! haha.. Luckily, a friend of mine actually bought a hand mixer and creaming the sugar and butter with mixer definitely help to speed things up!
Recipe has been adapted from here. I have reduced the amount of brown sugar by at least 10% of the recommended amount since I dislike the cake to be too sweet. I didn't have much confident when I stirred all the ingredients in, but I guess this is indeed a no-brainer cake to bake after all ..Here's the outcome of the cake, not perfect but definitely edible! hehe...

Fresh from the oven! Love the aroma!

Cooling down..

Removed from the loaf pan.

Tada...my banana walnut cake!

Note: The slightly burnt area you see were actually that of the skin of the walnuts.
A lesson to learn: I need to embed the walnut into the mixture next time rather than exposing them since the thin walnut skin gets burnt easily. Either that or I will have to remove the flaky skin on the walnut.

As for the taste, still as yummy!!

I will definitely be making this again :)

Frosty Day

2011-11-24T16:00:00.002+08:00

Today, I woke up to an -8 degrees temperature outside. When I looked out from my apartment's window, what I could see was only a white landscape..icy, cold and foggy...I initially thought that it was snowing, but apparently that's not the case..it is just freeze or frost or you can call it just ice covering all over the place..The landscape looked surreal, it was really cool to be frank, it's like living in a refrigerator, or perhaps freezer in this case since it is below freezing temperature..check out the pictures!

Remember this picture that I took in my last posting?

This is how it looked like now!!

The frosty landscape at the carpark in front of my company. Yes, even at this temperature, some people still ride a bicycle to work!

Looked like it's snowing, don't you think? But no, it's definitely not snow but purely just ice covering the whole area! :P

Change of Seasons

2011-11-19T16:36:00.005+08:00

Wow.. 4 months have passed...
I still remembered on the first day I arrived in this country, my heart was filled with trepidation and anxiety...
However,4 months later, and reflecting back, I'm glad I've made this decision to come. How often do we get the experience of living in a foreign country especially in a country where people don't speak English right? :)

As of now, most of us are able to understand some basic Hungarian language and we have adapted to the Hungarian Culture especially food-wise..we must have gotten used to the saltiness in the food! haha..Walking on the street alone is no longer a concern since we could understand and speak a smattering of Hungarian! yay! :D

From summer to autumn and now winter is coming real soon..time fliesssss...Next, I can't wait for the fluffly snowwww!!

Here's some pictures I've dug out from my vast collection on the season of change!

Summer time: View from my balcony

Autumn : View from my balcony

End of Autumn: We see the freeze everyday and the leaves, grasses and ground are always wrapped in a layer of ice every morning..simply beautiful! Temperature has dipped below freezing too!And it's getting so much foggier...

11.11.11

2011-11-11T15:20:00.003+08:00

Since this only happens once a century, here's wishing everyone a
Happy 11.11.11!!
I'm definitely lagging behind my posts!!I need to get back to you soon dear bloggie!

12-9-2011

2011-09-14T12:45:00.005+08:00

12th Sept 2011.

A special day.

For one, it's Mid-autumn festival! Mooncakes & Lanterns!
And also,D-Day I shall remember forever *wink*
The very day I ended my singlehood too!
Yep, the day I registered.
My ROM.

I'm officially married now! :)

Time flies.. 2.5 weeks to go!

2011-09-02T02:51:00.008+08:00

1.5 months whizzed by too quickly in which I think is a good thing. It just meant that I'm enjoying myself here and settling well.

It's funny to think that before I came here, my mind was shrouded with all the negative thoughts and I gave my worst expectation when I came here.
I expected my life to be such a bore since they aren't that many things to do here as Debrecen is a small city. Also, language barrier may complicate matters as not many people speak English here.

Little did I know that in 1.5 months, I've learnt to actually love this place! I was definitely wrong to think that this place will be a boring place! In this summer time alone, I've attended countless festivals and celebrations! People here are really warm, nice and friendly despite the big cultural and language differences! I've come to love the Hungarian language too! Initially I had complained about how difficult the language was. But with constant practice and many good "teachers" helping, my command of language have improved tremendously! As of now, I actually felt like "home" here. And indeed, I am loving it here :).

Tomorrow, I will be heading back home for 2.5 weeks for my home trip. I rarely mention about this, but the main reason is because, I am getting married!! :) Yes, in 2.5 weeks time!

It's indeed a challenge to do my wedding prep many miles away from home. Thankfully, with the advent of technology, almost everything could be done from the internet!

Hopefully, I will have a safe trip home.

Dang! Now I really miss home, as in my home sweet home in Penang!

Vislat! (Goodbye in Hungarian)

Look how tanned I've become!! :|

Scottish thistle thriving at Hungary!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Bloggie!

2011-08-23T15:54:00.003+08:00

Wow..time really flies..it's the 3rd anniversary of my blog!!
Happy to note that it's still active for now! Reminder to myself, I have to keep on writing! :)

Here's a pic of myself on a 3-wheeler inconjuction with my blog's 3rd Birthday!!
Woo hoo!!

Jo Reggelt! (means Good morning! in Hungarian)

2011-07-31T17:43:00.004+08:00

Got up pretty late today after a tiring trip to Budapest yesterday (will blog more on that later!). This is my brunch for the day.

Leftover fried rice & tiny portion of leftover stirfried chicken&potatoes.

Team dinner

2011-07-28T04:36:00.006+08:00

Today, my manager here invited me over for a dinner at Calico Jack, which according to them is one of the best restaurant in Hungary that serves great food! The best part is that the restaurant is within walking distance from my apartment, so I took a 15 minutes walk there.

This is how it looks like from the outside. It is actually built to look like a ship.In the interior there's a lot of pirates decor, and on the top floor, there's even a big steering wheel or helm on the "ship", with a Captain Jack lookalike figurine. Too bad I could not take any photographs since the top floor was closed.

This is the rustic looking menu that resembles a treasure chest,perhaps? :P

The drink I ordered, the lemonade. Love the lemonade here, it's a mixture of lemon and orange slices with fizzy water! So refreshing!

I ordered a soup as entree. This is Norwegian crab soup with salmon. It tasted sooo good!! I simply love to eat fish!!!

Of course, the next on the menu is a must have for any Hungarian events, so Palinka it is. (Palinka is a popular Hungarian brew made from fruit juices, basically if you can make jams with it, you can make Palinka!) . This time the Palinka I took is made of pear and I took 1 shot of it..To me it tasted very much like Tequila..surprisingly, I kind of like it! haha! For your information, this drink contains at least 45% alcohol!!

Lastly, my dessert of the day. I did not plan to order this, but my manager insisted that I should try as it is a Hungarian specialty..and the mere mention of the word "chocolate" made me changed my mind quickly! haha..And this is soooooo gooodd!!!It's a sponge cake topped with warm chocolate melts with a hint of rum, together with whipped cream on the side! Soooo fattening but it's too delicious and too hard too resist!!

Alright, you must be wondering what happened to the main course right?? Hahha, actually I have forgotten to take a picture of it! I must be too hungry then! :P Anyway I ordered a pork dish. Basically it was fried pork with breadcrumbs stuffed with bacon and cheese, with potatoes and onions as side. This was yummy too!!!

In conclusion, two thumbs up for this restaurant!! hehe

Finally, a group photo!!! :)..I learnt to say "yum seng" in Hungarian but it was too long for me to remember! haha

After the meal, I walked back home again..A good exercise as I was too stuffed!! I need to shed off some weight too!!

When I reached home, I decided to cook some rice for tomorrow's lunch consumption.

And this is what happened... :(

My burnt rice!! :( A failed attempt to cook rice with my microwave oven..sigh. In my previous attempt, I added too much water and my cooked rice became too soggy. This time around, I reduced the amount of water slightly, but now all I got is this overburnt rice!! Gosh, I really need to improvise my rice cooking formula! Anyway, my shipment is still stuck at the customs at Budapest..and I'm highly anticipating my rice cooker!! When can I get it?? sigh...

HK trip with parents-Outdated post

2011-07-24T17:26:00.012+08:00

On 9th to 13th March 2011, I was lucky to be able to explore Hong Kong and Macau with my parents. Myself as the tour guide, this is a diary of our experiences in HK as a reminder to myself. I'll be back one day, for sure :)...Overall, it's an enjoyable trip although tiring at times. I hope my parents enjoyed it as much as I do too...This is a brief account on what we did in HK.,

Day 1 :Bound for HK..in the flight with mom and dad :)

Our Hotel Room, YMCA Salisbury Tsim Tsa Tsui..a highly recommended stay!!

Day 2: Macau, here we come!!
We took a Ferry from the China-Macau Ferry Terminal.

Enjoying the Portuguese Egg Tart outside Koi Kei Bakery. We have bought many boxes of the yummylicious almond cookies too, a popular snack here.

A must visit in Macau is none other than the many casinoes that dotted the area. Reminded me of Las Vegas.

Day 3: We're at Ngong Ping 360 Deg Cable Car ride!. Heading towards the big Buddha statue at Tung Chung.

After climbing so many steps upwards, we manage to reach the top of the Buddha statue! Good job to mom and dad!

Again, my landmark jump! hehe..

After we got down from the cable car, we managed to do some shopping at the Outlet Mall at Ngong Ping called Citigates mall.

At night, we decided to stop by Mongkok. Mongkok, is well known for its many food stalls and the various streets selling unique items..Apart from that, it's also the place where the famous Ladies' Night Market is located. To me, there's nothing special on this market, it look something like our Petaling Street.

Day 4: Wong Tai Sin temple!

After the temple visit, we went to the Central district by the high-speed train. Central district on Hong Kong island is the at the heart of the city, a bustling city with skyscrapers and great shopping malls and shops!! Definitely a shopping paradise for me! hehe. In the picture above, the ascending steps here was a familiar scene. It reminded me of some of the scenes in the HK TVB dramas. Typically these narrow paths are a popular shot for the police and thief/bandits road chase on bikes!! Why I said that? That's because at the time I was there, there's already a filming in progress. Guess who I saw? haha..it's Louise Koo and Daniel Wu!! Too bad I didn't manage to snap any pictures. There's just too many plain-clothes policeman and guards all around that prevented me from taking any pictures! :(

There..this is the best that I could capture..in case you're wondering who, that's Louise Koo with his back facing us! haha! :p

At night, we proceeded to The Peak, the highest lookout point at HK.
In the picture, mom and dad's in the tram. On the way up!

That's me posing in front of the 360 deg viewing platform!

The night view! Too bad it was slightly foggy that day :|

Day 5: Final day!!! A relatively free and easy day. We decided to walk around the HK Avenue of Stars! Actually this place is just right across the street from our hotel! :)

Once again, it's too foggy, can barely see the skyscrapers at HK Island.

The iconic Bruce Lee statue!

And here's some of the food selection we enjoyed here..

Mom and dad enjoying the selection of dim sums here!

This sums up our 5 day, 4 nights trip to HK! :)

Hungarian Snack

2011-07-24T06:19:00.008+08:00

Turo Rudi!

Nope it's not a greeting, but a snack!!
Yep, this is one of the most popular snack/junk food here in Hungary.

Thanks to my manager here, he purposely bought one of this from the vending machine in the company to let me try it.

What's in it you may be wondering?

Hehehe..it's basically like a snack bar but the fillings consists of Cottage Cheese coated in Chocolate!!!
Eww!!!! What a weird combination! And you may be wondering, how can cheese go well with chocolate right?
My initial reaction was like this too and I'm kind of reluctant to try.
But let me tell you, this stuff is really good! Ok, it's a little too sweet for my liking actually, but what the heck, indulging in this once in awhile is still satisfying! :)

This is how the packaging looks like..actually there's many other different flavors..apart from this, you can have hazelnut choc with cheese, strawberry flavoured choc with cheese and etc etc..

This is how it looks like after a bite! The white stuff is the Cottage Cheese..

Yumm!

What's cooking?

2011-07-24T05:45:00.003+08:00

Over here, I cook at least two meals a day. 1 for lunch, the other for dinner. Sometimes I prepare some simple meals for breakfast too.

As my shipment has yet to arrive, I have to cook with just basic ingredients. Looking at the bright side, I've realised that food taste as good in its basic form.
I've learnt to appreciate the natural taste and sweetness of the food and not to rely so much on "flavoring' like soya sauce!

Here's what's being prepared over the past 1 week.

My first meal is none other than the unhealthy Maggi Mee, curry flavor!! My favourite!Slurrp!!! Everytime I eat this,it definitely reminds me of Malaysian food as I pratically grew up eating this!

Sometimes, I'll have a complete meal. A must have steamed lettuce, black pepper chicken and the no-brainer omellete with onions.

A simple ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast + a cup of hot Milo.

The easy to cook colorful tomato and carrot omellet

Finally, a simple 1 dish wholesome meal of chicken cooked with fresh tomatoes and carrots. :)

My First Weekend!

2011-07-24T05:13:00.006+08:00

Yeah! I've survived through the first weekend! :p
Before I came, I did not set much expectations for this country as I've been told that language will be a main barrier since not many people speak English! Also, there's nothing much to do in Debrecen, and I've already prepared for the worse..

Anyway, it's quite a surprise that there's still quite some festivals that's being held here. Not to mention, people are a very warm and friendly in general and they do try to converse in English whenever we ask for help. Well, at least they tried! It's my responsibility to pick up some basic Hungarian phrases too. Boy, this is definitely not an easy language to master for sure.

Anyway, back to the festival, thanks to the big university (Debrecen University), they organize the Campus festival every year during the summer. And one of the higlights is none other than the Music Festival! I'm so glad that we're just in time to check this annual event!

I'll let the pictures do the talking now.

Bought the tickets! It costs 4900 HUF! (approx RM80)

Posing in front of the entrance. Btw, it's held at a sports center open field.

They served some free drinks too! Btw, Hungarian ladies are really pretty! :P

They set up a hot air baloon too!!

A makeshift outdoor concert platform! They really do have some good performing acts around Europe!

Hello From Hungary!!

2011-07-24T04:34:00.007+08:00

Szia!! (Hello in Hungarian)

At the time of posting, I've already relocated to Hungary. Debrecen to be exact.
This place will be my home for the next 9 months!...Let's just hope I could find time to note down my experiences here...in the mean time, enjoy the pics!

The Hungarian Flag on the right, and yes, it's part of the EU.

My signature jump! hehe..!

All of us, with Eva our dear HR... :)

The most famous landmark here, the Yellow Church.

Finally, I'm posing within the Debrecen University Hallway. A really nice and beautiful campus with at least 52 faculties!! :)

What a long hiatus!!

2011-06-21T15:22:00.002+08:00

(......Clearing away the cobwebs....)
.
.
.
.
Oh my gosh!! Has it been that long!??

...I'm really sorry dear bloggie, I have forgotten about you..

Time to set my calendar, I need to post in more entries here soon!!

Will be right back!!

Happy reunion!!!

2011-02-02T17:54:00.003+08:00

This year may be the last year that I could be home for reunion..*sob**sob*...
I will definitely miss this.

These mouth-watering dishes are also used as offerings during prayers to our ancestors on the eve of Chinese New Year.

Sumptious meals..

Not forgetting the must have longetivity noodles!

CNY Homemade Cookies - 2011

2011-02-02T17:30:00.004+08:00

After a hiatus of 5 years,my mom and I decided to bake some homemade cookies for the Chinese New Year this year...of course one of the deciding factor is the fact that I'll be home much earlier this year unlike last year where I did not get back home until the first day of CNY due to my company trip to Denmark. Another deciding factor is none other the fact that I just bought a new mixer!! So it's time that I learn to bake, part of my resolution for this year.

I'll let the pictures do the talking on the cookie making process.

Beating,mixing,creaming, my Kenwood mixer does it with perfection!

Freshly pressed butter cookies dough...

Hot in the oven!

Taaadaaaaaaa!Freshly-baked butter cookies! crispy and yummy!

Put into containers for distribution and own consumption!

Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone!! :)

Happy Birthday to myself!

2011-01-08T00:14:00.005+08:00

Wow...it's the new year..and that's when I am one year wiser too...

The new year started pretty rough for me in that one of my colleague just announced that he is leaving the company and I would have to take over his responsibilities..This means a heavier workload and responsibilities..Well, looking on the bright side, I belief I can handle it, and I am going to be positive about this new change..as the saying goes, there's always a blessing in disguise for things that had happened...I just need to hang on..

That aside, I'm not going to forget that I've been blessed with a wonderful family, friends and colleagues..
You guys just made my day, and you know who you are!

Thank you so much! :)
What a great brand new year!

My Vanilla Cream Crepe Birthday cake . It was yummy!!

A great lunch at Lae Sang Lae Thai Restaurant at Tan Jetty. Thanks to my wonderful colleagues!

New Year Resolutions - 2011

2010-12-31T16:27:00.001+08:00

As the end of year 2010 draws near, I would just want to list down my accomplishments this year and things to be improved going forward. Yes something like a New Year resolution but I will separate it into two sections, Accomplishment and Improvement. In this way, I hope this will encourage me to feel proud of my achievements and at the same time to work harder on things that needs to be improved.

2010 Accomplishments:
1. Have cooked at least 3 times a week. My cooking skills has improved tremendously.
2. Passed my PM Examination & achieved PM goals.
3. Successfully sold many 2nd hand items through the web!
4. Completed the paintings for my home.
5. Revived my almost dead plants :P.

Improvements for 2011:
1. Stop Procrastination - I need to be more proactive and perform the tasks I have listed according to priority.
2. Time management - I need to rise early and go to bed early. To get to work by 8 am and get home by 6pm
3. Health - Exercise at least 3 times a week! (swimming and going to the gym)
4. Finance - Start a passive income channel (e.g: online biz, gold investment)
5. Work - Improve on my programming skills (NI SW and scripting)
6. Attitude - Improve on my self belief and confidence!
7. Lifestyle - Read at least 1 book a quarter & learn to bake cake!

Goodbye 2010!

2010-12-31T12:46:00.001+08:00

Wow...once again, I'm writing on the eve of the dawn of the new year. This is the second time I'm doing it, which means my blog has been around for more than two years! Unbelievable..

Although I have not been faithfully updating my blog on a monthly basis, this personal blog of mine does serve as a diary for me where I can read back my thoughts/writings from time to time..Most of the time, by reading back my old postings, I can't help but have a sense of dejavu..to be able to rekindle my memories and feelings at the time and place when I pen my thoughts is a good way for me to revisit my experiences in life...

In another week or so, I will be in another age bracket, gasp!...This is the moment when I should take a pause and see if I have lived my life in a meaningful way..I think reflecting back of my life is also a good time that I count my blessings of the many good things that have happened to my life...

So...Rewind.....

In the early months of 2010...January-March 2010

I have visited some new places in the world that I have never imagined I would have visited..especially for work! Guadalajara, Mexico, a wonderful place for creative people! Nice arts and crafts, nice and friendly people (as opposed to what you may have imagined) and great metropolitan city with really cool Spanish-inspired architectures!

Stepped foot on California again, especially San Francisco my favourite US city apart from Boston! Also visited Copenhagen,Denmark during the coldest months...love the snowy landscape,not to mention a surprising detour that brought us to Legoland Hotel for free!I only got back home on the first day of CNY, where my wonderful parents came over to Penang to picked me up. Still remembered that the first CNY meal I had was McDonald's as most of the Chinese shops are not opened!!

In the mid-months of 2010.. April to Sept 2010

Most of the time I was preoccupied with work and more work.
Also, I have moved to a new office location after sitting at the visitor area for at least half a year! Loved the new place.
Also, attended my friend's wedding in KL and at the same time attended a 5-day training in KL on fibre optics.
Multiple managers visits to Malaysia, which means we're blessed with good food, plenty of tours around Penang Island.
Did a full package medical examination. My cholestrol level has dropped! Woo hoo!!

Towards the end of 2010..Oct to Dec 2010

My parent's home back in my hometown was flooded for the first time in 30 years! :(. Helped to replaced some furnitures and do some cleaning up, luckily things have pretty much restored now.
Final training from my Danish counterpart in which they will be laid off by the end of the year..will miss them loads..
Also completed my home's phase 2 renovation. Hurray! At last, I have a proper wardrobe for all my clothes! :)
Visited my sis' new home in KL. Be able to hug my lovely nephew! *heartmelts*
Finally,I guess the most memorable event would be this.

Yep,I'm finally getting married... :)

So, this pretty sums up my year 2010...quite eventful eh?

Thinking...

2010-12-17T10:53:00.000+08:00

I don't know why but I tend to think alot lately...about my future especially..
I'm still not comfortable with where I am now, and I am still searching for my real calling...sigh...at this point in time, I'm still as confused as ever..not knowing what I really wanted in life...

Do you always have thoughts like that? Or it is just me?

Anyway, year 2010 is coming to an end...and yes, timeflies really fast..I really need to figure out my plans and my resolution for next year!

Right, time to get back to work...

Touring Penang Island

2010-09-28T23:23:00.001+08:00

In my line of work, occasionally, I would bring my counterpart who came here for a visit for a tour around Penang island. The funny thing is,although it has been many times that I have been to all these "touristy" places, I don't seem to get bored. I think for every place we go to, they should be new things to see, new food to savour, new experience to gain.We just have to be open minded at enjoy the process.
Here's some pictures I took on some of my tour around Penang Island. Enjoy.

Monkeys at the Botanical Garden

Mr Brown's Teahouse at Penang Hill. They serve scones and tea!!! :)

Scenic view of the East side of Penang Island from atop Penang Hill

The beautiful Snake Temple

You are allowed to touch some of the snakes at the Snake Farm! No thanks for me :)

New Blog Theme

2010-05-16T14:00:00.000+08:00

It has been almost two years that I have been using the pink template. Guess now it's time for a change....Here's the all blue theme..Loving it so far :)

It's been awhile..

2010-04-20T09:47:00.003+08:00

Wow..if I don't come here anytime soon, I'm sure you'll see some mould growing on this blog here...:P

I've always wanted to put my thoughts into words, but by the time I turned on my laptop, I'd rather do everything else rather than writing after a tiring day of work! Whoopps, procrastination..definitely...

Anyway,I've been listening to some really nice country music and I'm hooked to Rascal Flatt's "Bless the Broken Road" and Carrie Underwood's "Temporary Home" & "So Small" currently...
Love the lyrics, love the meaning behind them..That's the reason why I simply love country music. For this genre of music, it's not always about love stories but more to real life experiences that we could relate to!

If you have the time, please go to youtube, and search for the songs I mentioned.

The chosen path

2010-04-20T09:47:00.001+08:00

If given a choice, do you opt for a relatively stress-free,easy going 9-5 job or a hectic schedule kind of a job with unpredictable load of tasks and workstress? You might be thinking, siao ar (crazy) ... ? Of course it's the easy going job lar...who wants to have a hard life when you can have a relaxing job,right? Well, in this sense, I sometimes think that I am insane...

Personally for me, I prefer the more hectic lifestyle, hence the more stressful job. Yes, you heard me right. For some reason, I can't seemed to be able to adapt to a relatively free and easy job. The first job that I switched to fits the bill of a 9 to 5 job. And guess what? I didn't last very long in that job, as I felt bored. To me, being bored with nothing to do is worst than being super busy.

My current job, is what suits me the most. Being in the job for barely 7 months, I have transfered 3 product lines from across the globe. Challenging and stressful? No doubt about that. But no I am not complaining, as the satisfaction that i get after a day's hard work is definitely worth it.

Anyway, I don't know if all this will change when I have a family of my own. At that time, maybe a decent 9-to-5 job should suit me well.

We'll see... :)

Being sick in a foreign land

2010-03-29T22:35:00.000+08:00

My medicine written in Spanish...

Beautiful sunset

2010-03-25T00:33:00.000+08:00

Life's beautiful... :)

Colors of Spring time

2010-03-24T12:27:00.000+08:00

Hello & Hola...

2010-03-24T12:14:00.000+08:00

Hello from San Francisco! :)

....And Hola from Mexico... :)

Slurrrp..enjoying my margerita..ahhhh..

Kong Hey Fatt Choy!!

2010-02-14T23:25:00.001+08:00

After a daunting 24 hours travel time from Copenhagen to Penang with 5 transits in between, I made it back home without much hassles on Chinese New Year eve! The plane touched down in Penang at 10pm, and I was surprised that my luggage survived the long journey too and flew with me at the same time across a few different airlines!! It was great to be able to meet up with my dear family and friends. The best part is that I did not miss my reunion dinner as my parents decided to postphone the event to the first day of CNY instead so that my sis,bro-in-law and lil' nephew could join in the dinner too! We just had a great sumptous dinner at our neighbours' restaurant, today and the food tasted great!

What a great lunar year to start with in this roaring new year!

Here's wishing everyone a great Chinese New Year 2010!!

P/S: Sorry I know it is a lil' out but still I can't help but to post a picture of my dear nephew here...gosh..he never fails to put a smile on my face... :)

Hello from Denmark

2010-02-08T04:29:00.000+08:00

Hello there!!!!! hehehe...

Yup,if you noticed, I am on a business trip again. This time, to the Scandinavian country, Denmark. And yes, it is snowing, and it is very very cold!! Brrrr... btw, in the picture above, I was jumping on top of a lake! The lake has frozen and now it is safe (at least I thought) for us to step on it..err but let's hope I don't crack the surface! :P

Anyway, I will be in Copenhagen and as since it is winter now, as expected, I was greeted with some heavy snow!.Boy it was very cold too!...

The frozen landscape of Copenhagen at New Haven

The funny thing is that, I was supposed to land at Copenhagen, but due to a snow storm on the day I arrived, my flight was redirected to a small town known as Billund instead. Billund is located at the west side of Denmark, about 3 hours drive away from Copenhagen. There is nothing much to do in Billund but the most significant attraction here is the fact that it actually the birthplace of Lego! You know, the lil' bricks that all kids love. And and guess what??

The airline company actually decided to put us a night at Legoland Hotel! Yay!! The best part is that I was actually given the family suite! It was really a cool hotel with all the different variety of creations made from Lego. My room had a pirate theme, and it is really amazing!

My room for the night!

My pirate-themed bedroom

Interesting lego decor

Alright, that's all fI have or now, it's time to sleep...Can't believe I have to wake up at 5am tomorrow! Gasp!!

Till then, will blog again when I have time!

Chiao!! :)

Happy Birthday 2010!

2010-01-08T14:59:00.001+08:00

Yes, that's right...

Happy Birthday to myself!! hehhe...

Gosh, Time definitely flies...once again, a year older, but wiser..

Note:

The yummyliccious Fruit Cake above was a courtesy from my fellow colleagues.

Thanks a bunch guys!

Year 2010

2010-01-01T23:57:00.000+08:00

My first post in the new year...
Guess how I celebrated my new year? :)
.

.
.
Well....actually...it is on this very couch I am sitting on, with my face staring on my dear lappie too...
Yep, my new year countdown was spent with me surfing the internet. And the best part is, I'm all alone! mmm..hmm..I'm home alone this weekend.

But,,I guess it is not all that bad and no, I am not complaining. I do long for some quiet moments like this sometimes. Also, it's a good time where I can reflect back on what I did for the past 365 days.

Time for me to work on my resolutions this year.

Have a happy new year! :)

Happy New Year 2010!

2009-12-31T22:11:00.000+08:00

I really can't believe it!...It's a feeling of dejavu all over again. I did this last year, and now I am doing it again...sigh...I am talking about myself, once again rushing to post my very last entry for the month of December!

Basically, the year 2009 was a year that was filled with countless weddings, numerous trips/outings for me, a few baby blessings and also a couple of job hops..whoppss....

....2009

It's definitely a year that had me in mixed feeling. At one point, I was in anxiety over the economic gloom , but at some point, I was filled with happiness especially when most of my close friends tied the knot. I was priviledge to be able to do some travelling, and yes travelling is one of my passion. I was reminded at one point on not to take things for granted in a freak accident on my way to KL.I am thankful I am still alive and I shall be always thankful on anything and everything. Also I was exposed to a "new life" when I switched job. New colleagues, new environment, new role. Scary at times, but I knew it was something I had to do. I started to cook and I am learning many new recipes along the way, and I am indeed proud of my new skills! :) . I have achieved some of my financial goals but I still need to worked on it more, hence I need to set my resolution for this year! I vowed to go for Starwalk 2009 and yes I did it! Wow...so much so for 1 year down memory lane...for the rest of the time, I was probably sleeping! hehe...

Flashing back, there are just so many things that had happened within 365 days.

As I have not blogged much for the past three months, here's a summary of my life happenings so far....hope I will be able to continue blogging!

Early Oct 2009

-Sis & baby Shane with my parents came over for a visit.

Mid Oct 2009

-Attended my childhood friend's wedding, the couple is also my neighbour now.

-Outing with my good friend, Chen and the rest of my Mee-lo gang, my childhood friends in Penang.

-My farewell dinner with my now x-colleagues. Ahem...yes.
I changed yet another job! hehe.. ( I will blog more on this, promise..)

End of Oct 2009

-Karaoke at Redbox with my x-colleagues from my first job.

-Outing at Sunset Bistro with the same bunch! Miss those guys! :)

Early November 2009
-Outing with my 1Malaysia gang - my x-colleagues

-Met some wonderful colleagues from Mexico...they're my new counterparts...Great people :)

Mid November 2009
-Went for a business trip to India ( will blog more on this too)

End of November 2009

-Idle time...

Early December 2009

-Busy Busy Busy... Work, Work, Work.

Mid December 2009

-Busy Busy Busy... Work, Work, Work.

End of December 2009
-A trip to Cameron Highlands (will blog more on this too)

-My x-housemates wedding at Ipoh

Lastly,

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Incredible India - Outdated post

2009-12-19T00:55:00.000+08:00

This is a very outdated post of my trip to India in the month of November 2009! I meant to blog about this ages ago but looks like procrastination is to be blamed! Whoopss..Sorry bloggie!

Anyway, I discovered the wonders of "Collage" tool in Picasa, love it love it, as I could just collage all my pictures and load them here quickly!

I think I will let the pictures do the talking... (please bear with the tiny pictures though)

Yes, my stay in a 5-star hotel at Gurgaon, Delhi. This is by far the most expensive hotel I've ever stayed at! You will be treated like a King/Queen here, and wherever you walked by, the friendly staffs will not fail to greet you with their signature pose (two palms held together) and greeting you "Namaste".

Here's a selection of breakfast buffet that I had every morning. A fusion of east meet west.

Lastly, with just a week here, I managed to squeeze in some time to do some sightseeing too! A place that I always wanted to visit, a World Heritage Site conferred by Unesco, the Taj Mahal was part of the itinery. Travelling to Agra took us 3 hours by a charted car. The tomb looked impressive I must say. I just hope that the pollution around will not turn the white marble tomb into black instead! :P

That ends my 1 week business trip to Gurgaon, New Delhi.

An interesting city, contrasting yet colorful.

Leaving on a jetplane

2009-11-14T22:18:00.000+08:00

Sorry for the lack of post these days.
Being busy is not an excuse, it's just portrays the inefficiencies about me in managing my 24/7.
The fact is, I have lost my mood to blog. My mood is like the bear market in the stock cycle. Sigh. I hope to see signs of "recovery" soon.

Gosh, it's time I need a work holiday break! *wink*
Hopefully, I'll be able to blog bout my trip next!

Stay tuned!

October Sky

2009-10-21T22:52:00.000+08:00

Usually when I try to think of a topic to write, the best place for inspiration would be my handphone images. I guess I have not regretted getting a phone with a camera after all as this feature always enables me to snap and snap whenever and wherever I am!

This month, I noticed there's tonnes of images for me to sort through which means I'm definitely lagging behind my writeups! whoops...

Let me kick off this lil' post for October first...sorry been busy lately...I know I know...
But will get back to u Dear Bloggie real soon!

Chiao!

Life's little things...

2009-09-21T23:11:00.001+08:00

Guess who came for a visit?

Yo! Yo! Here's lil' Lady Bug from Da House!

Hear me sing, yeh....!

Stop surfing....!

Shake your bon bon...shake ur bon bon..

New job,new colleagues

2009-09-21T23:03:00.001+08:00

Just thought of posting up some pics of my colleagues that I lunch together with each day...

Here's mummy newbie, Shue and myself

Here's WS the super efficient admin and BK my new partner in crime!

Have a good day! :)

Cholestrol level out of spec

2009-09-21T21:25:00.000+08:00

On our annual medical checkup, I was shocked to find that my cholestrol level has gone up yet again to 5.7. As for BS,' his was even worse at 6.6! The limit is only 5.2! Both of our LDL levels are too high as well, way off the limit..gosh, what went wrong?

Alarm! Alarm! Time to do something....

One of the lifestyle changes for myself is to try to cook and eat at home more rather than eating out all the time. Perhaps the food outside is too oily..I'm not sure, but nothing beats a home cooked meal right? So for now, I'll try to learn as many simple dish as possible so that I could be home after work and whip out some edible meals! Tiring yes, but for health sake, some sacrifice would have to be made. Also more exercise!! I have not give up my yoga session, but apart from that, I should hit the gym perhaps? My yoga instructor has just opened a yoga and dance center nearby to where I stayed and I am really tempted to sign up for the Belly dancing class. It should be able to help to tone up my abs! :P

Anyway, just some sharing here on my home cooked meals.

Here's just one of the many dishes I cooked for the past few weeks, very healthy one indeed.

On the left was steamed lettuce with oyster sauce and on the right was steamed fish with sour plum sauce(the fish was all covered up by the gaarnishing of spring onions and tomatoes). Looked delicious eh? :)

Hiking up to Pantai Kerachut-Alas!!!!!!!-- Outdated Post

2009-09-21T17:17:00.000+08:00

I have always wanted to hike up to Pantai Kerachut. However most of the time, my friends would organize it early in the morning on a weekend! A real pig myself, I know it will be hard for me to wake up early in the morning (about 6am to 7am) thus I've got to give this opportunity a miss. Yes, I'm a sleeping beauty, somehow, forgoing my beaty sleep on a weekend is something I could not let go! :(.

This time however, Ivan invited me for a hike at 10am .Fantastic. That's just my time! Seriously, we don't really have to get up too early for the hike since the trail was basically shaded all the way by the canopies!

Be forewarned, loads of pictures ahead!

At the starting point, before the hike started ..

Myself posing at the jetty ..

On the way up with KH ..

Midway through the hike, according to KH and Ivan, this is a good spot to take a picture. Unfortunately, the photographer have lousy skills, thus this is how the photo turned out to be :(. Sorry guys!

We arrived at Pantai Kerachut. Here's a bridge linking the hill to the beach.

Pantai Kerachut..Serene beach.

After we got here, we had our packed lunch we bought from Kayu. Somehow, after a tiring hike, the Nasi Kandar tasted heavenly! After our lunch, we moved on to check on the Turtle Sanctuary.

Turtle Crossing...beware beware..

Cute litte turtle dudes...

After the turtle watching, KH and Ivan has got nothing better to do, so they try to climb a tree instead! :P

After taking a short stroll along the beach, it was time to go home. Going back, we decided to go by boat.

TY and myself enjoying the seabreeze. Look how green the sea was.

Enjoying the boat ride!

Although the waters looked green, but it was infested with jelly fish!!

Loads of 'em!!!

The boatmen caught one to show us! According to him, jelly fish love places with clear waters but filled with rubbish. Yes, I guess Penang waters fit the bill, thus they're thriving here!

After we arrived back at the jetty, we head on to Penang Road to sample the famous chendol, rojak, u name it...

As for myself, how can I missed my favourite laksa! Yummy!

KL trips

2009-09-21T16:18:00.000+08:00

Ever since I started my new job in late July, I have work trips to KL for 3 times already.
First was for my orientation, just imagine, pn the first day of your new job you were supposed to be in KL alone. And I don't know anyone! yikes!
Luckily, most of my new colleagues are very friendly and always willing to lend a hand!

This is what happen when you're alone...Camwhoring with a mirror in the hotel room :P
Another two weeks later, there was a company team building held at The Mines Hotel, KL.
So there I went again to KL, this time hitching a ride with a colleague.

On our way we stopped by Kampar to sample the famous Curry Chicken wrapped in a bun!

This dish was simply too delicious!! Two thumbs up!!

My colleagues, BK and WS...cheerful mates :)

The teambuilding was a full day event at Mines Resort Hotel.

The Mines Resort, pretty eh?

With some of my colleagues from KL :)

The gang from Penang (Myself, WS,BI,David,CS and BK)

After the teambuilding event, guess what? I would have to head to KL yet again the next week to be part of the company audit. This time however, we flew.

As a safety precaution against H1N1 :P

My colleague in KL ,Tung who joined the same day as myself was kind enough to bring us to sample his favourite "Har Mee" - Prawn Noodle at Salak South.

Apart from that, I also managed to meet up with some of my close friends while in KL. We had dinner at a restaurant at Kuchai Lama famous for its fish head beehon.

This is the first time I tasted fish ball beehoon soup cooked with milk & rice wine! Unique and tasted pretty good.

My bestie, lingo and pretty MS

Lilian & YL, my good buddies since young.

So, when will I have to be in KL again?

Gosh, I needed a break!!

UTP trip - Outdated post

2009-09-21T12:40:00.000+08:00

Wow, i almost missed my deadline for this month blogging! I have tonnes to write and tonnes to share that I don't know where to start. Ok one by one...I'll start with my post about my alma matter, UTP first.

During my visit to Ipoh early July this year for a friend's wedding, the morning church reception was held at Batu Gajah, Perak. That was like half an hour drive to my x-university, UTP at Tronoh. As BS has never been to my university and it has been more that 5 years since I last step foot to my uni, I thought why not just pay a visit to the place.
After the church reception, we had a couple of hours to kill before the night reception at Ipoh town. So off we went towards Tronoh where UTP is located. Armed with our trusty borrowed GPS, we could reach UTP without getting lost...what a wonderful invention eh?

After 5 years, I was amazed at how development has changed the roads leading to my uni.
Called the Ipoh-Lumut expressway, this road was a two-way expressway with no divider in between. The worst thing is that there were alot of huge trucks and lorries that love to ply this road as the barren land where the expressway cut across were mostly x-mining land, and this is a great place for construction companies to buy sand for construction. Whenever there's a lorry hogging the road, most cars would have to make dangerous overtaking manouvoer. But as of today, I noticed there's some improvement. The roads were been widened and there were dividers on the road and certain stretch, and some were two to three -lanes now. Also on dangerous junctions, traffic lights were installed too especially at the junction into UTP main entrance! Alrite, I'll let the pictures do the talking now...

A drivethrough down memory lane.......

This was a temporary building built to house our tutorial rooms and labs when our new campus was still under construction. Now, it was solely used for Co-curricular activities. This was where I used to attend my tutorials and labs!

The old USM DK (Dewan Kuliah) is still around!

The pinkish temporary building is still around too!
The picture shows the x-main building of UTP where the old hall used to be.

This is the new campus. Behind me is the Chancellor Hall, the place where my graduation ceremony was held! We're the first batch of students to use the hall!

I spent a lot of time here during my final year mostly attending tutorials, finishing up projects and consulting my lecturers on the topmost floor.

Village 3- Block D, the place I stayed from 3rd year onwards...ahh...great memories! :)

Here's where the new lecture halls were located.

Another building were I spent a lot of time finishing up my Final Year Projects (FYP). I literally set up the lab myself as I was the first to use it!

The place I lived in my first two years of my uni life, yes it's still standing today and still in use! Gasp! Who cares about it collapsing?

Crazy me posing, the building behind me if you noticed, on the 2nd floor, there's where I spent alot of time completing my FYP!

Things has indeed changed alot! There's a few new cafeterias now, a sprawling new floating mosque and also a new "village" a.k.a student hostel blocks! Also there were a few petrol stations along the main road leading to UTP now as opposed to the tiny petrol station within the campus which served the entire UTP community. That tiny petrol station was no longer there now.

....Time really flies........!

Life Altering Moment

2009-08-23T01:45:00.000+08:00

Have you ever experienced a moment when adreline-rush overwhelmed you, and things that happened around you moved in slow motion? I've been told that during critical moments, the adrenaline rush would catalyse your mind to work faster sometimes beyond human capability to deal with a situation. Hence, you'll realise that the happenings around you move slower as your mind is moving faster that lightning speed.

That was what happened to me.

Last Thursday night, my colleagues and I were on our way to KL for our company teambuilding on Friday. We started our journey at about 4pm. On our way we even stopped by Kampar to sample the famous chicken curry wrapped in a bun! After the sumptious meal, we continued on our journey South.

Along the way it started to rain. Raining cats and dogs it was. There were 4 of us in the car including the driver, and we're chatting, giggling happily, oblivious to the rain.
As we're approaching Slim River, suddenly the driver turned to me and said he couldn't control the vehicle. I noticed the car seemed to be out-of-control when the steering wheel is not responding to how it was steered. I was on the front passenger seat.

At that moment, a weird sensation overwhelmed me. It was like a dream. I knew the car spunned about 360 degrees (I don't know how many rounds) and hit the road divider on its rear. The impact was pretty strong, I could feel my body jerked forward. If not for the seat belt, any of us would have flung forward. I was bracing myself for the worst the next moment, perhaps preparing for a head-on collision with the divider or another vehicle from behind. In my mind, I actually thought the end is nigh, that was it. Mind you, the rain wasn't subsiding, it was pouring its heart out.

The next thing we knew, the car then gradually stopped. My eyes was distracted. When we gained our composure, I realised our car was in the middle of the highway! The oncoming cars would be coming straight to me where I was seated hence the car headlights were shining on me!! I could see cars approaching directly to us!.

As the driver was still in a state of shock, we cajoled him to try to manoeuvour the car to the side of the road. We were lucky as the area was well lighted since we're near to an exit. We're very lucky as the cars behind us were driving slowly and could avoid hiting us. We're lucky because the car did not get hit anywhere apart from the rear which was damaged. We're lucky because non of us were injured.

I guess things happen for a reason. We were given a second chance. To me, divine intervention definitely helps! I shall not forget my faith...We ought to be thankful of what we got...And this serves as a stern reminder. To cherish our life, and not to take life for granted. Imagine being in a situation as helpless as this, and all you could do is just to hope and pray for the best.
I always remember the song by Tim McGraw, "Live like you were dying".
Life is short, cherish it, live to the fullest!

This experience definitely changed my life perspective.
I hope it does serve as a reminder to everyone here too, sometimes we're too busy chasing our dreams that we forget our roots, our family our loved ones. Do spare a moment each day to hug your love one, or call them if you're away from them. Also, when you're driving, never ever neglect on checking your car condition. Tyres are the utmost importance in a car, make sure it is in good condition. Seat belts are there to protect your life, so wear it!Just imagine the outcome if any of us were not wearing seatbelts! Safety should always be your utmost priority.

Take good care everyone and God Bless! :)

Happy Birthday Bloggie!

2009-08-23T01:31:00.000+08:00

I can't believe it...It's been a year!
Last year today, is the day I started this blog.
That time, I was at Scotland for a business trip.
Time really flies huh?

I shall keep writing on you dear bloggie...:)
No more procrastination!

Farewells...

2009-08-04T00:06:00.001+08:00

I know it's a little bit late to post up these pictures..but better be late then never eh?

I just wanna say a big THANK YOU to everyone here for all the lovely farewell lunches/dinners. :)

@Double Good

Back Row: BooEik,SueAnne,TitMin,WenLing,YuehChin,XinZu,SeongTee,ChangWan,Alvin

Front Row: LiShih,SiewKee,Myself,BuiKee

Farewell lunch @ Kapitan's in town...Guess who's holding the camera? :P

Too busy eating to smile for the camera!

@ Chilli's - Thanks to CW for the fantastic meal :)

CT displaying her hamburger set..hehe

@Kim Gary - I was coerced into settling the bill for this one! not fair!!.... (j/k :P)

TM was dreaming away....

Still @ Kim Gary - CW busy with the menu and SK posing :)...

@Baskin Robbins Restaurant - Department lunch

Yeah, I didn't know they serve food here too..

Seated from left:MingYih,YingXuan,BoonKean

Seated from right:ChongLam,Alan,ChinKeat,Eric

From left: BooEik,WengFook,Azlan

From right:SayAun, YengSeng(myboss ;))

Scratt Mania

2009-07-24T02:39:00.000+08:00

My department caught a bug..No, no no..Not H1N1..

It all started with this.

One early morning, we saw this.

Gasp! We're surrounded by Scratttttts! They're everywhere!

Next think we knew, they started the "Internet Age"

One by one, they attacked our lappies!

Sometimes, they try to sneak into our lappies in disguised!

When we tried calling for help, they managed to stop us in time! :(

Then, in our lappies, they started to replicate themselves!

Replicating....replicating..

More and more....

And more...........!!!

What are they doing here?

What are they looking for?????????????

.
.
.
.

.

They found it, they found it!

(-.-)

Revelation time

2009-07-23T23:55:00.001+08:00

Well well..I guess it's time that I should let the cat out of the bag.
I was refering to this.

Most of you might have already guessed it (especially dear CF, yeah smart boy!).

So, after 5 years, 1 month working in this company, I have alas decided to move on. Yes, I have resigned and today indeed is my last working day.

Looking back, I, myself could not believe that I've made the decision. Most people were shocked when they heard about this too. One thing for sure, I think I am crazy enough to do this as I just cannot accept the fact that I'm too comfortable at work! haha.... Another way to put it, I'm already in my "comfort zone". Somehow, I felt I was too young to be in this position, and I should actually try taking on more challenges in life rather than to ~~rot~~ stay put in just one company till my retirement. So I took a leap of faith, and yes I did it...! :)

Now, come Monday, I shall face a new life, one with so much uncertainties and risks...sound scary huh? I guess I'm a risk-taker. I'm anxious to know if I could survive in the "world" outside my current company walls. There's no turning back now!

Anyway, one thing for sure, I'll definitely miss all my fellow colleagues :(.
That's one thing that I'll cherish alot apart from the nice and relaxing working environment. *sigh* What have I got myself into?

As I left the company today, my mind was overwhelmed with thoughts.
...Have my work benefited any one?
...Have I learned what I wanted to learn?
....Have I passed down/transitioned my tasks well?
....Will I regret it?
....Will I miss this place?

Hmm...I guess all that's left are plain memories now...I do hope that what I left was a legacy rather than a nightmare. One thing for sure, I know that I've tried my very best.
And I know that no one is irreplaceable. Now it's time to move forward, take the path less travelled and live with it.

Goodbye MBO!
Goodbye my colleagues!
I'll miss you all!

My gang

One of them is my boss, take a wild guess :)

Colleagues in my group

The MBO Dream Team , keep shining!

Rescue Mission

2009-07-13T15:01:00.001+08:00

I have 4 pots of plants that I was nurturing late last year. It used to be healty and happy and green. Like this.

But sadly, two of them died a tragic death...One of them lost all its "hairs" (topmost) while the other one was looked famished and dried up (third from top) . :(

Although two of em' died, I wasn't giving up.

I am trying again.

So, I "stole" a money plant and a "god-knows what name?" plant from my apartment landscaping initiative ( abit only ok) and will try to plant them..Of course I will try to keep them alive this time.

They seemed to be doing well so far...please don't die!!! *fingers crossed*

The potties sunbathing by the balcony.

New additions are the first and last one from the right.

A long delayed Birthday present :D

2009-07-13T14:59:00.001+08:00

...This was what supposed to be my birthday present for the year 2007.
I did not "claim" in until recently (a reason which I will reveal in my future postings). Long delayed right? :)
So here's what have I got? (thanks to darling again :))

It is this.

Still in the box.

Hehehe.....what else?...It's a lappie of course!!!!!!!!!!.

A lappie that was ordered and delivered straight from the factory...Obvious enough it is from DELL. I can't believe how easy it is to purchase the lappie online, fuss free and all done with a simple click of a mouse.Well ok..not exactly just one click,as you still would have to browse through the specs and perform some customizations of course...
Ok to cut a long story short..here it is..
Presenting my....................BLUE DELL STUDIO!!!

Still in the box

Hopefully I'll make full use of this :D

First time boot up!

Old Town White Coffee--The origin

2009-07-13T14:58:00.002+08:00

I still remembered my last trip to Ipoh. That was around May when I went for a short trip to Malacca and KL with BS. On our way home, we decided to stop by Ipoh to try out the famous Old Town "white coffee". You know, that super famous Old Town trademark with its kopitiam (restaurant with old charm) sprouting out at every nooks and corners in Malaysia these days.
However, we're looking for the original "Old Town" in Ipoh, where these white coffee craze first started. A catch was that we do not know the place (streetname) nor the name of the place(a coffeshop).

After calling and checking the location with Ipoh friends we tried to scour round and round Ipoh looking for that famous place. As we do not know where we're heading, we went round and round in circles. Frustration got to us eventually and after few more hours searching, we gave up. Somehow, Ipoh folks don't know the street name of "Old Town" kopitiam.. and even with my handphone GPS, we cannot find the place :(....sigh

This time around however, I make sure I do my homework beforehand. I was determined to find the place by hook or by crook!. As I will be heading to Ipoh again for a wedding this month, I wanted to try finding this coffeeshop again! Thankfully, a few bloggers mentioned about this place and blog about its delicious food and drinks served. This time, equipped with a better GPS (mobile GPS) from a kind friend, CW (thanks mate!!! :)), we're ready to roll!

Guess what?
This time, we could easily find the elusive "Old Town Kopitiam" which was located at Jalan Timah. I was surprised how close the place was to the old bus station at Ipoh (Medan Kidd). I used to frequent the place alot when I was heading home from uni during my studies at UTP! Funny, I have never been to the coffeshop despite having stayed at Tronoh (45 minutes from Ipoh) for 5 freaking years!

The name of the shop was called Nam Heong. And it was right opposite the so-called "only flat in Ipoh". Oh yeah, you hardly see any high-rise flats or apartments in this land abundant Ipoh.
Once we're there, we need to wait for a seat as the shop was really small, barely fits 10 tables.
And the place was packed as usual. Apart from coffee, they serve tea too (my favourite!) as well as some pastries (like egg tarts, taro balls and other dimsum varieties). There's other stalls selling Penang favourites like char keow teow and Hokkien Mee. Of course we'll give those a pass, but we did try the pastries, the coffee and tea and of course the famous Ipoh Prawn Noodle (It's something like keow teow soup).

The verdict:
Boy, their white coffee was really aromatic, thick and tasted just heavenly!
I love the tea too!! And best of all, their egg tarts!!!!!!! Wow..that's the best I've ever tasted so far and I really recommend it!

Here's some snapshots I took with my cameraphone...

The trusty "GPS" loaned from CW :)

The flats in front of the shop

The corner coffeeshop, Nam Heong

Wit and gf,PN enjoying their meal

KH looking happy, just finished his satisying meal

My prawn noodle

My tea!!

The sinfully aromatic ORIGINAL OLD TOWN white coffee

Delicious egg tart!!!!! *drooolll*

Wedding bells are ringing!

2009-07-13T14:58:00.001+08:00

Wedding bells are ringing again and again!!!
Wow..This year must be a year of weddings for me.I have 7 wedding invitations to date and out of them, 2 were that of my colleagues, 4 of them came from my university mates while 1 will be that of my schoolmate.

Recently, I attended a wedding of a dear friend, my X-roomie at university. After 8 years of courtship, Ivan & TseYi are tying the know at last. As the wedding the dinner was held at Ipoh,
thank you so much to my darling,BS for being the "paksarela" driver for me that day.

Although this trip was short and tiring but I was glad I had a sweet reunion with some of my university mates that I have not met for many years now! :) Oh, we even met a lecturer of ours,Mr. Yeap. Oh wait , he should be Dr.Yeap now...!

Here's some pictures of the wedding event.
It's great to be able to meet up and catch up with my university mates as well! :)

Yummmmmmmm....senggggggggg.........

Like a big family shot huh..

At the center, the resplendant looking couple..Ivan&TY

Looking drunk...SP,ST and myself

All of us ....

Ironic?

2009-07-07T22:41:00.001+08:00

How ironic....The appliances at my home started to show signs of faults & wear and tear when the warranty period ended at exactly 1 year! Yes, I've been living in my "new apartment" for one year now...

It's funny in the sense that these appliances are manufactured to last for just one year before it should be returned back to the factory again. I can't imagine how these appliances are sent for regulatory and stress testing to ensure its mere one year functionality!

To prove my case, I have this stove which I bought from a reputable Japanese brand.
It was by no means cheap, but seeing that it was highly recommended by most dealers, we have decided to purchase it.

Guess what? After one sweet year,while I was happily cooking in the kitchen with my wok,
I heard a loud explosion and my wok "flew" up a few inches from the burner!
I was lucky to be alive...

So now it's time to send my poor stove back to the manufacturer for service and repair.. :(

And thanks again for giving me the creeps in my own kitchen, my wonderful stove....
I shall cherish my life more. -.-

Property Craze in Penang

2009-07-07T22:40:00.000+08:00

As of late, a few of my friends were interested in finding a place to call home. Surprisingly most of their haunts were concentrated around the place I stayed.

So this ~~kepo~~ helpful gal will always tag along during the house hunting session to serve as a "second-opinion" observer for them! Hey, to be fair, I was invited alright..
Frankly, I don't mind doing this at all.To me, it would be nice to be able to check out how other house owners decorate their nest. It may be a good place for me to get some inspiration perhaps? :)
Having visited a few properties to date, some of the home interiors were really nice (probably cost a lot too) while some of them were not very well kept, not something that I would want to emulate.

Penang property prices has been skyrocketing like crazy within these few years...It's just ridiculous at times when u think about it..For a decent apartment around 1000 sq ft, the market rate in Penang right now its about RM270k and above! Don't you think that is just too expensive? Imagine as a fresh grad with a starting pay of RM2500 and after two years decided to purchase an apartment. How much would you need to save to be able to afford one? If you could save up like RM1000 per month for 12 months, that would just be RM12000/year.So you would need at least 3 years or more to just be able to afford the downpayment! (this is assuming the person do not have any savings prior to that, or any inheritence or help from family)..Then how about the miscellanous fees like legal fees, stamp duty etc etc? This could easily come out to another 1-2% of the house price....
Gosh...what is wrong with the system here?Who's driving up the prices? investors? or is Penang really running out of land? As a property owner, that may be a good thing of course. But for purchaser, welll, I can just wish them luck!

For some reason, I'm kind of interested in checking out properties although I'm not buying them.I probably got hooked when I started hunting for an apartment myself two years ago..
If only i have some spare cash now, I'll join in the bandwagon too to earn a few quick bucks! *wink*

Simple things

2009-06-28T13:54:00.000+08:00

This morning as I walked out of my apartment, I saw this cute lil' thing crawling about slowly..
Endearing isn't it?

Funny I didn't think it looked gross at all although it has a rather slimy outlook...
In fact, this lil' friend actually melts my heart... :)
What a good start....Have a good day everyone!

I did it!

2009-06-26T22:43:00.001+08:00

What a relief!!
This has been bugging me for sometime already and I'm proud to say that I've done it!
For some people, things like this are as easy as A,B,C, or maybe with just a simple flick of a coin. But for me, things are not always that simple...perhaps it's because I tend to think too much? :)
Don't try to speculate ok....I'll blog more on this when the time comes. *wink*

In the mean time, let me enjoy my cuppa first.. :D

Gathering with X-unimates

2009-06-23T21:00:00.001+08:00

Thinking back, I can't believe it that I've known most of my university mates for 10 years now! Time really flies!

Last week, a dear friend of mine, KH came over from UTAR Kampar (he's a lecturer there) for a visit, so Ivan, have asked a few of us out for a small gathering at TGIF.

Looking back 10 years ago, all of us were just so young and innocent. Our main concern at that time were mostly related to exams, projects or perhaps about relationships.

10 years later, if you were to look at the group photos below there's only two person left who's still single. Sadly, one of them is myself ! *gasp*

I can't imagine what it will be if we were to look at another 10 years down the road?

If we were to have another gathering, we'll need a bigger place perhaps for our grown up kids! haha..

Check out our blurry group photo, thanks to my camera phone:

A sweet reunion

2009-06-22T22:19:00.001+08:00

Remember my post last year about my trip to SQF?
That was the time when I was lucky to have befriended CT's friend, Bulat.
She was at UK for a year on student travel visa, in which she could work then travel around Europe and UK. How nice!
Oh, not to mention, she's a great cook too! I'm still craving for her super yummy nasi ayam and nasi tomato dish that she whipped out till today!
Anyway, she's back in Malaysia now, and we had a nice lunch in town.
It's good to be able to meet up with her again!
You can check out her great adventures in her ultra-cool blog here.
We went to try out the famous Mee Goreng Sotong (Fried Noodle with Squid) at Esplanade. This was the mee goreng place that I mentioned in my previous post that actually tasted better than the one at Bangkok lane.
Here's some pictures we took for remembrance .. :)

Famous Mee Goreng Sotong at Bangkok Lane

2009-06-17T21:20:00.000+08:00

Last weekend, BS and I decided to do some "Jalan-jalan cari makan". Having read about this famous Mee Goreng Sotong from a fellow blogger, BS and I decided to try it out.

Have you heard of Bangkok Lane? I have not, but I remembered seeing that lane while I was driving along Jalan Kelawei (The road parallel to Gurney Drive) few years back. If you frequent Gurney Plaza, you will know where Jalan Kelawei is. Simply put, it is the road on the "backside" of Gurney Plaza or G Hotel. On this road, you will see that there are many lanes leading towards the cross section of Jalan Kelawei. Armed with a 10 year old Street of Penang map, surprise surprise, we did not get lost but managed to find Bangkok Lane easily. Maybe it's because I just got back from Bangkok? hehe...

Surprisingly, Bangkok Lane is a charming little lane adorned with restored pre-war houses!

Bangkok Lane

Anyway, the shop is located at the rear end of the lane, a corner lot chinese Kopitiam. Besides the Mee mamak, there's a Wantan Mee stall and a stall selling chinese pancake.
As we were there on a weekend, the shop was pretty packed. Besides mee goreng, they have mee rebus as well, but I have yet to try that. With so many patrons to serve but only 1 cook, surprisingly we don't have to wait too long for our food.

Here's a picture of how the Mee goreng sotong looks like.

Mee goreng sotong mamak

The verdict:

I like it, but I find the Mee Goreng Sotong at the Esplanade slightly tastier. But bear in mind that tastier food means it is less healthy.

Nothing beats eating mee goreng with a cup of teh ais! Aaahhh...

BKK Trip

2009-06-17T21:19:00.001+08:00

Each time I stepped foot at Bangkok it sure did bring back many fond memories to me.

This is already my 3rd trip to Bangkok. The first time I went to Bangkok was back in 2004, right after my graduation. A party of 5 of us, we took a 24-hour train journey from Butterworth Penang to Bangkok, Thailand. Yes, the journey was that long! Mind you, at that time we still don't have the luxury of flying cheap with AirAsia. Air Asia was probably an ailing company then, in dire straits before Mr. Fernandez the Hero, rescued them with a mere "RM1" acquisation.

To be frank, my first trip to Bangkok was also my first backpacking trip, and boy that was my best travelling experience so far! Being so naive and carefree(haven't tasted the hardship of working life yet), every place we ventured was a great adventure. We explored Bangkok and Kanchanaburi by foot most of the time. On other times, we took public transports like tut-tut, the train, taxi and buses. To save cost, we even spent two nights at a brothel-like motel for our accomodation. What do you expect? It cost us only 120 bt (RM12) per night, and we're just students ok, so this what we could only afford.

The experiences we gained? Many. We mingled with fellow backpackers, stayed at a raft house on an elephant farm, tried on elephant rides,took our bath at a serene waterfall-Erawan Falls (as we're too disgusted to bathe in the river where the elephants bathe and relieved themselves too!) and took a journey down history at the River Kwai where the British armies, some of our forefathers, the Indian Gurkhas and local ppl fought for their lives here with the Japanese army in the early 1940s while building the Bridge over River Kwai.

These experiences are something that money can't buy. But to gain such and experiences, we need TIME. Yes, time is the luxury that I don't have.

Eversince I started working, the only available time I have is on weekends. Sigh.

Last year, with the limited TIME I have, I managed to make a trip to Bangkok with BS to visit my sis and bro-in-law who was posted there for 2 years. That was a short trip. We didn't do anything much, in fact I stayed home most of the time. The only thing I enjoyed most is to go shopping and more shopping!

Fast forward to this year. With the worsening economy, my company had asked us to take two days' off per month, which is equivalent to 10% paycut. *sniff* Looking at the bright side, it means, I will have more TIME too!! And with that, I could make another trip down to Bangkok!! Woo hoo! The best part is that my wonderful bro-in-law has offered to sponsor my trip to Bangkok! So this will be a FREE trip for me!!!

This time, it is different however. No backpacking or whatsoever. I will be visiting my sister,brother-in-law and most importantly my little nephew!! Weeeeeee! My parents will be there as well, so this will be a family trip!! Woo hoo!

The highlight of my trip this time is that my parents and I took a half day trip to Damneun Sadok market a.k.a the floating market which is about 2 hours drive from Bangkok. It was really interesting to see vendors selling everything from little trinkets, to clothings to food on the boat. Have you ever experienced traffic jam on a river? Well, this is something unforgettable! haha...

Here's some pictures from my trip.

Vendors on the boat

Traffic jam!

Me on the boat

Family

And not forgetting ................

The Cheeky lil' fella!! ........SAWADEEKAP :)

Kampachi Mari!

2009-05-30T20:03:00.000+08:00

SK, a dear colleague of mine, invited me for lunch at Equitorial Hotel's most popular Japanese restaurant today! That's Kampachi Japanese Restaurant with their super yummy weekend buffet! ~woo hoo !~
As a big eater, How can I resist not accepting the invitation right? :D

So apart from me, SK invited another colleague of mine, CL for the buffet lunch too.
We met at the hotel at about 1pm, and as soon as all of us arrived and well seated, we went to pick our selection promptly. In case you are wondering, Yes, I was the first person to get up from the table too!! I was really hungry ok.....

So here's some pic that will blow your mind away...
Psst...Did I ever mention that I have 4 stomachs? :D

Sorry for the blurry pics though, blame it on my cacat camera phone ya!

Here's SK posing in front of the restaurant.

For starter, let's sit back, relax and take a sip of warm green tea first..

Ok now, are you ready?

Don't be shocked ok..I can REALLY EAT...check out how many rounds I refilled my plate here!

Round#1: A selection of cooked dishes (teriyaki chicken, grilled salmon, boiled vegetables, tempura)

Round#2: Sushi and more sushi, and a selection of pickled vegetables and radish (for some reason, I love all these pickled stuffs)

Round#3: Fried and deep fried stuffs; fried battered chicken,bean sprouts, fried fish,garlic rice and my favourite Miso soup.

Round#4: Shisamo(Fried fish) and more grilled salmon (it was soo delicious!)

Final round: Desserts and fruits which included sliced oranges, papaya and honeydew and a scoop of bread and butter pudding. Also downed a bowl of red bean soup with rice cake. Yum!Yum!

After this hearty meal, I was too full to even move. i felt like a python having just gobbled a cow whole!!

We sat on the table for a short chit-chat as well(for digestion sake, mind you :D). It was great having to be able to get to know CL and SK more. At work, we were simply too busy to talk to each other despite SK was just seated right next to me! haha...

As SK and CL are both very quiet and timid people, I did most of the talking and that must have irritated them, so in the end, we proceeded to the gardens outside for a short walk instead! Sorry guys!

SK looking happy and satisfied having sampled her favourite: sashimi!

Bravo to CL for trying out all the "raw" food. No thanks for me :D

Finally, that's me and SK posing outside the gardens.

Thank you soo soo much for the wonderful meal, SK...Really appreciate it:)
Not to mention, I do cherish our friendship too :)

Swimmmm Swimmm

2009-05-30T19:36:00.000+08:00

I invited CT over to my apartment for a swim yesterday. To be frank, that would be my second time swimming at my apartment pool only! Shame on me huh? hehe...

The swim was great, and we had a relaxing moment at the pool "jacuzzi" too....Loved the massaging effect...If only I have a pic to show how relaxing we were...hehe...CT and I practised swimming underneath the pool floor too. It was hard initially as the water was pushing our body up, but with practice, no problemo! For now, I am only able to swim with breaststroke. I am hoping to pick up freestyle soon, any volunteer that would wanna teach me? :D

After the swimming session, CT and I went for dinner at our usual meeting place, the very popular Old Town Kopitiam. We were starving!!

See how CT gobbled down her toast! :D

See how messy my this shot is, I was eating my toast and nasi lemak at the same time! lol!

Ok, CT insisted that I should take a shot of myself eating the toast too!

Am I living in a prison?

2009-05-28T22:36:00.000+08:00

Recently, the management of the apartment that I'm living in has decided to install a gate at the entrance for pedestrian which is just by the guardhouse. Previously, anyone could just walk into the apartment and the guards at the guardhouse will not stop you. Since most of the residents at my apartment are "kiasu" people, the concensus is to install a gate to allow only residents with the access card to scan in in order to prevent any outsiders from accessing our apartment. Security is always a concern.

All visitors will now need to sign in their name at the guard house and each will be given a "visitor pass". Then the guards will call the apartment owners to our home telecom for verification.

After having passed the first barrier, the next would be the entrance to the lift. Yes, one would have to scan in to access the lift as well. As such, whenever I have any visitors coming, I need to get down to open the entrance door to the lift.

This tight security is definitely beneficial for the residents in particular. However, imagine if you are having a party and a company of friends of family members are visiting you. The dreaded thing is to walk down to open the door to the lift and at the same time answering the call from the guard house when a visitor come over. You will have to do this over and over again whenever a visitor came! *sweat* ...That's why sometimes I do feel like I'm living in a prison! There's a price to pay for everything, no doubt about it! haha!

Anyway, here's some crazy snapshots of my colleagues who came over for a small party last month. The party was specially thrown for a visitor from US.

Check out the visitor pass required for everyone! lol...

Who wanna visit me next? :D

Everyone holding their 'visitor pass'

Me joining in the fun :D

A short trip down south

2009-05-25T22:53:00.000+08:00

When I was 10 years old, I went on a school trip to Malacca. The very first place I remembered going to at this "Historical city" was the Hang Li Poh well at Bukit Cina. If you don't know who this lady was, then you should be ashame of yourself for not paying attention during History class at school!

Yes, aside from the fact that Princess Hang Li Poh, the chinese maiden who married Sultan Mansur Shah, another intriguing story was that the well that Hang Li Poh had used to bathe herself everyday has never dried up (and will never) over the years. From my last check, despite the ultra hot weather, the well was still filled with water!

Legend has it that if one were to toss a coin into this legendary well, you would return to this very place one day. As an innocent child, I happily tossed a coin and make a silly wish into the well. Little did I know that it will take me another 10 years to return to this very sacred land, and despite having a real short time(I was at Malacca for just a day), BS has insisted that I should visit the well again!

...Gosh, why did I toss the toin in the first place? Now I'm stuck together with a fellow Malaccan for 5 years already! haha!Anyway, apart from Malacca, we did make a stopover at KL. Ikea has been THE place that I would want to visit for ages, and at last we did make it after countless failed attempts to KL!!So, What have I got?? Oh framesss.....I need some framesss for my home...my poor colorful wall has been so bare!!!

Psst..I'll put up the pictures that I'm framing next ..stay tuned! :D
Here's some random pics I took while in KL and Malacca!

This is Cheng Hoon Teng Temple looking splendid after the renovation & restoration works which has been going on for ages!

This is me at the Hang Li Poh well (after a 10 years absence!)

Me again hiking up Bukit Cina. Note the hiking trails are lined up between some centuries-old chinese cemetaries!

I simply love this pic. Note the temple, the brick buildings at the foreground and the old zinc roof kampung style houses in front. What a contrast!

Me posing in front of Cheng Hoon Teng temple.

Just the two of us after the hike. A snap with my camera phone :)

And lastly, a brief stop at Sepang International Circuit! Two down...(first was Silverstone F1 Circuit)

First purchase from mudah.com.my

2009-05-18T22:30:00.000+08:00

I first encountered this new trading web portal (mudah.com.my) awhile back while surfing the net. Over time, this site has grown considerably and more and more people are posting up their stuffs for sale. You can find virtually anything in this site from apartments, cars, services like renovation and home tuition to basic kitchen utensils or even used clothings. One stark difference between this site versus other trading sites such as Ebay is that the business deals are done on a personal level, at a one on one basis, meaning to say, the seller will post their contact no or email address and then you deal with them privately. If a deal is cut, the items can be delivered by the seller through post, air, by them sending it personally or you can collect it themselves. With this mode, you do not need to open an account separately to use the site, the site is merely an avenue for people to sell their stuffs or services. However, we have to be wary of who we are buying or dealing with as most of the time, the identity of the seller is unknown or we will never knew since the buy-sell deal do not actually require a face to face encounter at most case.

I must admit that I have more or less "addicted" to this site lately. Without fail, I'll check out this site each day for any good deals. Being a cautious person, I actually bought something from this site having scoured the site for months!

I have always wanted this laundry bag from Ikea and it is retailing at approximately RM35 if I don't remember wrongly. Now this bag was selling at RM12!! I contacted the seller through sms and the seller told me that the bag was still available. He told me it was brand new (although I doubted it) but anyway it is just RM12, and the best part is that he has offered to deliver it over to my house!!

So here's my Ikea laundry bag!!!

Still wrapped up...

My white laundry bag!

I was so happy and satisfied with my purchase as I knew I had a real bargain!!!

Oh welll.....

This was shortlived however.....

Just last week, I was at Ikea and guess what I saw?

.

.
.

The Ikea laundry bag was ON SALE and it was retailing at just RM7.90.

I almost fainted.

Who moved my cheese?

2009-03-27T11:41:00.000+08:00

5 years ago, when I first step foot into this company I am working in, I was an innocent, young and vibrant employee, very eager to learn and experience my very first job.

I still remembered, on the very first day I got into my department, there's not enough cubicles left at the area where a majority of my peers were seated. The next thing I knew, I probably fitted the bill as a weirdo thus I was immediately ushered to a reserved cubicle at a different section .I felt as If I was "marooned" there,as my seating area was pretty much isolated from everyone else. The place that I was seated consisted of a bunch of colorful personalities. There was this manager who unfortunately was infected with a stroke a few years back, an expatriate , a Chinese from the States who were based in Penang for a long term assignment, a cheerful Quality Engineer, who in the end migrated to the States after she hooked up with ironically a US ex-colleague of mine. Another guy who was a technician but treated like an engineer, a brilliant but kiasu talent sat just right beside me. There's a couple more quiet and timid but dilligent mechanical engineers too. On the first three days of my life, my life was miserable. I don't have an assigned tasks and worst still I don't even have a PC. Mine you, at that time, we were only allocated with a PC, not new one,ok.. My dinosaur PC was faulty, so it was sent for repair. As I was seated far away from everybody else, I was deprived of even to have some short conversation with my colleagues.

Imagine having to put up with doing nothing for 8 hours a day without a PC during work!
I was practically BORED to death. So I walked down to the Learning Center, which luckily was just a few steps away from where I was seating.

When I saw a rack filled with books, my eyes lit up. At least, I could grab something to read, I thought.As I scoured around, this very book caught my eyes. Interesting, yet appropriate for readings at work as it was applicable to work. So I grabbed it immediately and loaned it for the next few days.

The selection: Who moved my cheese?
The book is really interesting as it creates an analogy/parody to explain situation that may happen to us at work or anywhere or anytime in our life. Just a super short and crude summary. The main storyline focuses on two mice, Sniff and Scurry and two lil' human, Hem and Haw both living in a maze. Their existence is defined by how much cheese they have. They simply love cheese. Their drive is to constantly look for cheese station, the very station with an abundance of cheese supply. The difference in the characters of the storyline relates to their behaviour/attitude towards cheese.

Sniff and Scurry is always on the lookout for other cheese station despite having an abundance in their current station. They knew that supply will one day dwindle. Hem and Haw on the other hand took things for granted, not being aware of the dwindling cheese supply in their station. Once they found the "perfect" Cheese Station , at least it was perfect in their eyes, the will settle there and decided to live at the station for good. They believe that things will be as such forever. They believe that things are as good as it is and the station with such a cheese abundance is a rare find. All they wanted is this, and the felt blessed and lucky to be in such a great station.

Years gone by, and Hem and Haw was enjoying themselves so much that they are not aware of the dwindling suppy of cheese in their station. As such when the cheese supply was running out, they cursed, ranted and blamed each other on the lack of supply and even blamed each other for stealing the cheese. Obviously,their relationship turned sour. None of them could accept the situation that they are in. In fact they're doing nothing about it. All they did is to complain and blame.

In the end, out of sheer desperation, Haw with all his almighty guts, took his first step out of the maze. Hem on the other hand decided to stay put fearing on what he might encounter outside the maze. He prefers to stay on the current cheese station despite the dwindling cheese supply. As Haw ventured out, he was surprised to see that there are indeed some cheese supply here and there in bits and pieces. Not many but more than enough to survive.

Along the way, he also scribbled on the maze wall on the direction and pointers , hoping that Hem would follow his way one day. With some cheese collected, Haw returned to Hem and brought him some new cheese he found in the maze. He wanted to invite Hem to venture into the unknown with him when he gets back. To his surprise, Hem declined the offer and worst still, he refused to try the new cheese! Haw, feeling dejected, yet again ventured out of the maze, this time with more confidence from the experiences he gained previously.

This time, he is venturing further deeper downthe maze. Again, he left his scrawlings all over the maze wall as a guide to Hem. Feeling lethargic due to the long journey and sometimes lack of cheese along the way, Haw was on the brink of giving up when he stumbled upon a new cheese station. This time, the station has an even more abundance of cheese than their previous station! He was simply delighted. Haw stayed at the new station for awhile but learning from his previous experiences, this time around, he is not going to rest on his laurels. He is always alert and constantly on the lookout for new station.

In Haw's heart, he is still pinning for his good buddy,Hem. He hopes Hem will follow his path thus he never stop putting his pointers on the maze wall. On the largest wall in his Cheese station, he wrote this to Hem:

Change Happens
They Keep Moving The Cheese
Anticipate Change
Get Ready For The Cheese To Move
Monitor Change
Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old
Adapt To Change Quickly
The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese
Change
Move With The Cheese
Enjoy Change!
Savor The Adventure And Enjoy The Taste Of New Cheese!
Be Ready To Change Quickly And Enjoy It Again & Again
They Keep Moving The Cheese.

One day, he heard some movements in the maze apparently approaching his station. In his mind, Haw was hoping that it is Hem who has found his way here!

So what is the Moral of the story?

1. That change is inevitable in every scenario.
2. Do not take for granted on all the things we have now.
3. Always on the lookout for alternatives or new opportunity.

Why am I writing this?
Well, it seems that my cheese has been moved lately.
And the fact that this story has ingrained in my mind for a long time to come, and I'm amazed at how true and applicable it is to our daily life ...Please do take some time to ponder on this.

And quoting one of my friend's principle in life which is so appropriate as a curtain closer for my entry today:

"The Only Constant is Change"
..
Always bear this in mind.. :)

Have a good day!

A lazy afternoon at work

2009-03-26T14:36:00.000+08:00

It's working time now, and I have not been "working" since this morning.
Gosh...the saying "It's easier said than done' has never been so true. I have constantly
reminded myself that things will get better if I have faith in it. Yes, I know I should persevere and every ups will be met with downs before going up again. This vicious cycle will never end but the down cycle seems harder than I thought. Bad news is a norm at times like these and the seed you sow will have slow or retarded growth regardless of how much water or sunshine you gave.
When is this going to end? Should I see this as a blessing in disguise? Where's the "blessing"? I need to find it!!

Enough of complains, I am striving to overturn the curse of me being branded a NATO (No, Action Talk Only).
I have my plans set and I have my will, I will weather the storm. More patience and Zen, that's what I really need now.
Right, back to work now...Focus..focuss....Hocus...Pocus...Puffffff...

When enough is really enough ...

2009-03-13T00:08:00.001+08:00

At the time I'm writing this, I've already being home for at least a week.
This one week is nothing but pure bliss to me. I didn't think taking holidays is all that important until this time. Well, yeah of course you'll be "home" everyday, you may argue.
But what I'm trying to say is this.

Just imagine that ...

1. I don't have to wake up at 8 am in the morning, get dressed, and drives groggily to work.
2. I don't have to worry about tasks that needs to be completed.
3. I don't fret about unfinished tasks or projects.
4. I don't have to face the music for tasks not done properly (or think of excuses to save my a**).
5. I don't have to have close encounters with the great"taichi master" that I may loathe or meet people that are a fickle and hypocrites.
6. I don't have to feel frustrated for a good job done with lack of recognition.
7. I don't have to feel depressed when bad news or announcement looms or became a reality.
8. I don't have to read emails and respond to them.
9. I don't have to worry about lunch time and what to eat.
10. And finally, I don't have to spend my 12 hours on it.

All the points aforementioned pretty sums up to the dreaded four-letter-word of W-O-R-K.
And by the tone of the writing, you'll notice that it is very discouraging and filled with negativity.

Let's take a step back and trace how all this happened...

You seee...For the past 6 months, I have not have any proper rest as I have been slogging and slogging like no tomorrow at work trying to get my tasks done. And I may have thought that I'm a superwoman of some kind, and I'm doing this without any break. Zero. No break at all until ....well the Chinese New Year, but guess what? I' was STILL WORKING and supporting my counterpart on Chinese New Year as well. So that doesn't count as a proper holiday as well.

And being so overwhelmed with work plus all the stress, frustration and sometimes tense situation has got the better of me and so I've turned into a grouchy tiger waiting to pounce and chomp someone's head off at any moment. I was a live ticking time bomb about to explode.This definitely triggers the chain of event that follows:

Needless to say, I need to mention that I'm easily irritated by things or scenario that changes all the time. No firm answer, that's it. I hate it!
I wonder why is it so hard for someone to make a decision and be firm about it.
A "confirmation" is liken to a "maybe". And someone's "yes" is actually a "no" and vice versa.

Just imagine this (I know its not the greatest example..but...who cares).

Scenario:
You felt the urge to pee. And you walk to the toilet and there in front of you lies the urinal.

1. Do you actually think before you pee? Should you pee or not?
2. Do you change your mind then decided not to pee?

Come on, for most people , the answer would be NO and you'll just pee.,right?..but for some strange reasons, there are people that turned back and walk away. But why???
Why can't you just stick with the damn decision??

Also, why do some people will not admit any mistakes despite being starkly WRONG?
Does uttering the word "SORRY" takes so much effort?

And and, can you just do whatever you like, selfishly without thinking of how other's might feel?
Like changing a certain stuff/processes to suit you needs and then causing grief to the so rightful owner of the stuff/processes you've changed? Gosh..please have some common sense. The least you can do is just ASK.

All these peculiar events could not have happened at a better time. And that's how they drove me up the wall. So on a very fine day, all hell broke lose and that's when I showed my stripes (a.ka harimau menunjukkan belang). Crouching tiger have at long last appear from her hidings in the bush, ready to unleash her mighty power. I wasn't happy to be frank and that's when I snapped and cursed and throw hurtful remarks. Nothing could stop me.

When that happened, this is it...I know it's time that I needed a break. A long break. A long hiatus.AWAY from WORK....that's it.

So here I am now, writing this blog on my favourite spot on my comfy couch sipping my favourite milk tea.

As the saying goes "Every cloud has a silver lining" and this has never been so true to me.
I felt that I have lost control of my life and now it's time for redemption. Not that I've done anything wrong, but with the time that I have now, I'll redefine my goals and this time ensure that my work life should revolve around me, and not the other way round! I need to set my priorities right, and work will never be the first priority again.

Quoting what Suze Orman always preach, "People first, then money, then things".
I'll live by this rule now.

Don't worry, once I'm fully recharged, I'm back not with a vengeance, but the same ol' tamed ellwye (imagine puss-in boots in Shrek.. lol ;)) taking charge of her life and beyond!

Have a good day. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T18:37:00.000+08:00

This year's Valentine's Day seemed to be the most memorable one for me. I guess it's because BS and I did actually do something together this year on this special day, well, almost as we had a simple Valentine's dinner on the eve. I tried to reminisce my previous Valentine's celebration but somehow I couldn't think of any! Hahaha!

Over the past four years we've been together, both of us were so overwhelmed with our work that we tend not to celebrate anything about "Us" on the exact date! Valentine's day celebration were usually postphoned or celebrated earlier, the same goes for our Birthdays. In fact, we have not even celebrated our Anniversary before! As for gifts, yes, we do give each other gifts but again, that was usually some practical gifts rather than those "cutesy hearty stuffs like soft toys or flowers!".

Ok, I am not trying to complain about how unromantic BS is but I got to admit it myself that I am not a fan of having a big bouquet of flowers with 99 roses signifying his love to me etc etc...

I am a practical person myself and yes, I have received flowers from him before and I felt that once is enough. To me, flowers will wither and die, and I always wonder what was so special about flowers to girls in particular. To me, that was just a plant's reproductive system! No offence to those who loves flowers though. Personally, I would rather receive something more of practical use like kitchen utensils or even home improvement tools!. This year, as if it was fated, my poor handphone met with an "accident". More stories on that at my previous post. As I was mourning for the loss of my poor handphone, BS has agreed to get me a new handphone. So that's officially my Valentine's gift! Thanks hunny !!! :)

As for dinner, we went to a Vietnamnese restaurant at E-gate called Ms.Saigon.

I have been craving for Vietnamnese restaurant for sometime already and I'm really glad to have found one that's not too far away from where we were staying. BS just hates driving to town!

I ordered a weird sounding name dish which I can't even remember. The dish consists of brown rice with 3 sticks of kebab-like seaweed rolls with chicken and crab meat as fillings. The dish was not bad and has a distinct flavor. BS on the other hand ordered limegrass chicken rice set. The dish was a bit dry without much gravy but the chicken was tender and just nice when eaten.

Our favourite dish were the Vietnamnese special spring rolls! It was too yummy!

I'll let the pictures do the talking!

The dish I ordered

Limegrass Chicken Dish

Vietnamnese Spring Roll

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! :)

My new baby - G705

2009-02-09T21:56:00.000+08:00

Last Wednesday, on a routine visit to the office toilet, just as I was about to remove my pants and bend down, I heard a "plop". Eee...you may be thinking that I was up to some "big business" right? Haha..well, re-read the previous sentence, please. I want to reiterate the word "just as I was about to" to you, this means that I haven't lar...

Back to the "plop", when I turned and looked into the toilet hole, gosh...my heart sanked.

My poor handphone has dropped into the toilet!!! Arrrgh...my favourite Sony Erricson handphone of 3 years has drowned. The next step I knew was that I actually stucked my hand into the toilet hole (it was a squat toilet btw) to retrieve my handphone. No glove, nothing...Gross enough? :D

When I picked it up, my faithful handphone was still alive, so I switched it off and washed it. After that, with a friend's help, he opened up my handphone case (shame on me, I still don't know how to open the cover..*lol*) and that's when I left my handphone battery and the set to dry for a day. Having suffered without my "lifeline' for a day, I promptly turned it on the next day. Boy, lil' faithful was still alive!!! Ok, of course it's not perfect now (and has never been). It was definitely a lil'more cranky now than before having suffered a bad concussion after I dropped it. The mobile OS also tend tend to reboot by itself a few times a day..Oh well, I think I can still live with that for now.

I promptly reset the time and date and reuse my lil' fighter again at night especially the alarm clock mode. The very next day when I woke up, I got a shock of my life when I realised the time was already 8.30 am! Dang!...it occured to me that my handphone alarm was not working! When I looked at it, the time has reset back to the default state. In my heart I knew that it was time to say goodbye to lil' handphone.

Time for a change..yippy!

I have been diligently surveying around for the last couple of days for handphone that met my specs. I knew I wanted a phone with at least a 3.2 megapixels camera, preferably a 3G phone, would love to have one with GPS and also wifi-enabled. Also I am picky about brandnames too, I would just buy either a Nokia or Sony Erricson phone. The specs in N-series Nokia looked great, but the size of it put me off because I am looking for a small handphone. Having scoured around, I narrowed my decision to two models ...I was having a dilemma to choose between Nokia E66 vs Sony Erricson G705.. Both met my specs, in fact I took a fancy of Nokia E66 initially but again the size of it lead me to consider G705 as well. You see Nokia E66 is larger than G705 and one important criteria for me is to have a small phone that I can easily slot into my pockets.

A hard decision to made, but ultimately, G705 is the winner, because of its user-friendliness and small size. As for E66, I strongly recommend it to guys rather than girls. Somehow, G705 looked more feminine to me while E66 looked more masculine! haha...

So here it is .... presenting SE G705 .....

My new baby (picture courtesy of www.mobile88.com.my)

Kong Hei Fatt Choy!

2009-02-01T20:23:00.000+08:00

Happy Chinese "Niu" Year!!!!!!!!!!!

Simple CNY decoration at home this year, yes,lazy me ..hehehe..

At the time I am writing this, it is already the 8th day of Chinese New Year!!!! Gosh! How time flies!!

Every year, I'll actually help my mom and sis to bake our signature CNY cookies, butter cookies or pineapple jam tart. However now that my sis is already married with a baby in tow she will not be home until the 5th day of CNY. As for me, due to work commitments, I can only get home a day before the reunion dinner. So no CNY cookies this year :(..

The very thing that I absolutely look forward to each year is the sumptious "chai" or vegetarian dish that my mom cooked! It tasted heavenly I tell you although the dish consisted of mostly vegetarian varieties in the likes of mushrooms,black fungus, "Fatt" choy, cabbage and etc.

Too bad I don't have any picture to show, hate my camera batteries, its deader than ever :(.

At work, before I went home for the CNY holidays, a few of my colleagues and I went to Double Good Restaurant at Bukit Jambul for a chinese new year feast. We even had the chance to toss "abalone yee sang"! Yummy! In view of the current economic situation, hopefully, what we wished for would come true!! Also, thanks to our "American" colleague, CW for giving us a treat on that expensive luncheon!

Abalone yee sang

Back home, it is good to be able to see all my childhood friends and not to mention my adorable nephew!!! How I missed him!! :)

Kong Hei..Kong Hei... :)

Mischievous lil' E Shane. *heart melt*

I'll be off until the 9th day of CNY after the "Thni Kong" a.ka. Jade Emperor's Birthday celebration. After that, things will be back to normal mundane working life..Nooooooooooooooooo!!!

.....Now that I have another two days of honeymoon period, I better cherish it!!

Alrity, Happy Chinese New Year everyone!! :)

Being a local tourist for the day

2009-01-18T13:19:00.001+08:00

This weekend, I had a yum char (tea-drinking) session with a couple of close colleagues (In case you're wondering, BS was ex-colleagues too). In fact we're all from the same department previously. One of them was my current boss,YS and the other one was my ex-sifu (master) from my previous department, HY.

HY have always been an inspirational figure of sort to me. He is known to be as quick as lightning, not in terms of how he run but how he type on his keyboard!! He could type at such an astonishing speed it'll send professional typist to shame. Not only in his typing speed, but the speed of how he could accomplish his task! This have always impresses me. Try to give him a task and I can assure you that he can complete it within an hour/ two the latest! The word "procrastination" is never in his vocabulary. I wonder how he manage that? Really must hats' off to you, Sifu HY!

...Ok ok...so that will be another of my resolution this year,READ: No more procrastination!! (in fact this is my resolution every year ...*paiseh ar*)...

...Anyway, back to our yum-char session, he has agreed to bring us around in his old, new car, a cool Honda Jazz he just bought lately.Myself, BS and YS all are supposed to meet up with him at his apartment at Jalan York. The first destination was to go to an old, dirty-looking but delicious kopitiam by the name of Tai Tong at Kimberley Street. NOTE: This is an old kopitiam not the "Tai-thong" restaurant! ...Too bad I did not snap any photos, hunger must have got to me , I gobbled up everything before I could snap any photos....

From what HY told us, Kimberley Street area is a "Cantonese area", meaning that the Cantonese immigrants from China first settled here or started their business on this street in the early days. So when you're at this street, most of the shop owners and patrons speaks in Cantonese instead of the typical Penang Hokkien. It felt weird I should say but being a Cantonese myself, it felt like home instead :). We ordered some egg tarts, buns wrapped in curry chicken ,Siew pau and the shop's signature dish, the fried crispy egg noodle with big prawns, all downed with a brewing pot of chinese tea. Sorry, I don't know what's the real name of all the dishes but I think you can use your imagination? :D

All in all, the food tasted really good, and the atmosphere of the kopitiam with its old creaking tables and chairs, senior folks manning the shop, tiled walls and floors gave a sense of old charm to it. I really love old kopitiams like this and really hope that it will not vanish through the test of time.

Kimberley Street is also a street famous for Chinese Tradional shops that trades and sells chinese herbs, delicacies and authentic chinese cooking ingredients (like lap cheong (chinese pork sausages and waxed duck). With just another week to go before the Chinese New Year, the street is packed with shoppers doing their last minute shopping. We managed to take a quick stroll along the street checking out the myriad of items and sometime quirky food products on sale!

Next stop, HY suggested that we go to the Quan Yin (Goddess of Mercy) temple at Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling (a.ka. Pitt Street). This is the first time I was there having stayed in Penang for the past four years. With the coming CNY, I took this opportunity to perform some prayers and blessings ritual. The temple looks majestic from the outside with its prominent red roof but having battered with the environment and smoke from the incenses and jossticks over the years, the interior have somewhat being inundated with ashes. Yea, I did contribute to it too in some way but I have chosen to light up a single lotus candle over buying a bunch of jossticks, a small contribution towards saving the environment also mar ... :D. One interesting part of the temple I observed was in the central part of the temple which has an open roof structure. This allows the sunlight to shine through,which helps brighten up the otherwise dark and stuffy area and also a quick way to let the smoke out. Smart design I would say.

Quan Yin temple (picture courtesy of WWW)

As we still have some time left before my next appointment at 3pm later, we head off all the way to Batu Ferringhi. We planned to visit the Tropical Spice Garden. I have been to this place a few years back when the place just started and this time the place looked more "jungly" and wild than my previous visits. The entrance fees cost RM14 per person, a little steep for a Malaysian tourist I would say since we have the abundance of jungle anywhere. Howlar to promote cuti-cuti Malaysia like that if the tourist attractions do not give any incentives/discounts for local tourists? Maybe they should consider changing our Visit Malaysia tagline to "Malaysia, Truly Kiam Siap and Kiasu" instead...*shakehead*

The entrance (picture courtesy of the link above)

This time around, I don't quite enjoy the visit as the place looked rather unkempt and most of the observation point that was supposed to look majestic (overlooking to the sea) seemed to be shrouded by overgrown plants and parasits. The ponds were now overgrown with green algae and it was not a pleasing sight indeed. Few years back, the water was crystal clear and you could see small fishes swimming around. To add salt to injury, the insects and mosquitoes seemed to love me that day and I've been generously donating my blood to them! One stark differences between my last visit and now is that the place have grown considerably bigger in size and now they have included a jungle trekking trail (45 minutes walk) as well. We however have decided to skip that since we're not well-attired (in flip-flops) for that challenge! Anyway, the trails are lined up with a variety of plants used to make spices and it is quite fun identifying the plants, smell the leaves and guess what it is used for. An educational experience I would say, and it's good to get close to nature occasionally as we're always sitting in front of out laptops according to HY! lol...

The next stop we head to Swatow lane (beside New World park) for some ice-kacang (milk tea as usual for me) and then we took our lunch at an Organic shop (sorry forgot the name) along one of the restored old shophouses at Nagore Road. The shop sells only organic and vegetarian products. As I was still feeling stuffed from my heavy breakfast, I only ordered a bowl of red-bean soup. HY ordered a dish called "liu-cha". According to him, that dish was a Hakka dish, a very healthy dish in fact. Brown rice with a variety of nuts and vegetables with a bowl of greenish-looking soup (a mix of at least 15 types of vegetables). YS on the other hand ordered a vegetarian burger while BS ordered the vegetarian Miso noodle. All I can say is that the food served here are very very healthy. Delicious or not? Err, I think delicious food is not always healthy and vice-versa right?

Coincidentally, we parked right beside the Continental bakery, a very famous bakery in Penang.

This is the main entrance, normal looking but very famous! (Picture courtesy of the link above)

It was my first time there as well and of course I couldn't resist the aroma of freshly baked buns,cakes and pastries. Did I buy anything? Well most definitely! My pick was just a simple loaf of banana cake costing RM6.20 each, expensive hor?Hope it tastes as good! I always wonder why healthy food must be that expensive one? *sigh*

After few rounds of chit-chatting session, it was time to head home and off to my next destination of the day. I was to be part of a sampling program for a foreign university and USM research collaborative effort. Simply put, I would become a "lab rat" for an Economic research by a foreign university! lol!... I shall not delve so much on this but basically that will be one of my "part-time" job to supplement my 10% drop of income per month,muahahaha!! (Just joking! :D)

Adios..and thanks so much to Sifu HY for a fun day out!!

A year wiser

2009-01-13T22:15:00.000+08:00

As the year 2008 whizzed by making way for the dawn of the new year, it was never the 1st day that would bring any significance to my life but rather the 8th day of the new year that is more profound. So why you may ask?

Well...because that's the time when I got a year ~~older~~ wiser, got it ? :)
In case you're still blurr blurr, it's my Birthday lar!

So how did I celebrate it this year?

On my family front, my parents had initially planned to bring me to a Thai restaurant for a simple dinner but I have counter proposed to have it at my favourite local hawker's delight instead. Aside from cost-saving reasons, ever since I got back from my business trip in UK, I have dreaded eating any restaurant food and the thought of eating any good and expensive food actually turned me off. Imagine eating out everyday in restaurants for 2 weeks in a row? Well for me personally, this is too much for me as I have always prefered home-cooked food or hawkers' fare to restaurant meals.

At work, I was very surprised when a whole bunch of my colleagues actually bought a cake for 3 of us, early Birthday candidates and threw us a small celebration at the pantry during tea break. It was really sweet of them!! :) ....

SA,TM and myself cutting the cake!

Two days after, a close uni friend of mine,TY have proposed to have a potluck gathering at my apartment. As I have not met some of my uni friends for a long time, I am so grateful of them to actually attend the gathering. There were 13 of us all!!

Yet again it was another surprise for me when they took out a cake for me towards the end of the party. It was really thoughtful of them!

Thanks a bunch mates!!

Can you guess how old I am? :D

Wowww........What a great year to start-off!

Although I'm still enjoying life, the current bad economic situation should not be taken lightly as we know a real bad recession is looming. I really do hope that things will get better gradually as the months passed. Thus one of the things that is high on resolution list is to be as frugal as possible!!

Lastly, again... I would like to thanks all my friends,colleagues,family as well as my dearest, BS for the Birthday surprises and not to mention the constant support and great friendship & camaraderie from all of you!

THANKS EVERYONE!! :)

Back Home

2008-12-12T13:17:00.001+08:00

At the time I am writing this, I'm already back home for about a month now.

I intended to write a post on my trip back home, but time seemed to whizz by so quickly and by the time I realised it, it is already 31st December 2008, 10:46 pm now!Gasp!! I shouldn't miss my December entry! Starting a blog and maintaining it (at least 1 entry per month) has been one of my resolution for the year 2008, and I think I almost missed it, shy of two hours!!

As for the new year, I am supposed to be at KL at this time but somehow the trip was postphoned at the last minute due to some unforseen circumstances which I don't feel like revealing here. *sigh*...well, at least it give me all the reason to blog here now! :)

Reflecting back the memorable events of my life in the year 2008:

The first would be that I am now an official "aunty"...yup..I am the proud aunty of my wee nephew and yes I am very bias to say that I have one of the cutest nephew in the world!! Gosh, I am missing him already... :)

Cute lil' E Shane at 5 months old

The next would be the next big thing in life, no not getting married but getting a place to call our own.. After months of scouring around, me and my bf found our almost perfect apartment. At last we're not worried of being kicked out of our rented homes or having to put up with our insane, psychopath X-neighbour.

My apartment @ RH !! :)

Another one worth mentioning is that I spent a good three months in the UK again for my work assignment. I was very priviledged to have CT as a housemate. She is a cool chap and we could talk about anything and everything under the roof...of course, we share our greatest passion of going gaga over shopping as well!! Also, we met some really nice people when we were there, salute to Mayumi and Ian for cooking us the sinfully delicious Japanese meal and taking us around for short excursions! Not to mention, the other Ian for driving us around Southwest England...we really appreciate that!!

Mayumi and I enjoying our desserts :)

Lastly, I just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year 2009!!!

So what's your resolution for 2009? I shall post that up next... Till then!

.....gosh it is almost 12 am now...I better post this up soon!!

What will I miss about Apartment # 11?

2008-11-09T10:57:00.000+08:00

Having stayed here for about 3 months, I must say that I really really love the design of this apartment that I lived in. The interior especially looks really cozy and nice. The simple yet elegant design is what I really fancy. Frankly, I really do hope to have an apartment like that, but with the miniature budget that I have for my apartment back home, I don't think I can afford a design as such yet...Apart from the design, I love the furnitures, furnishing and even the utensils!! It's soo sleek and modern! Anyway, here's some of the things that I will miss when I go home.

The dining table

The big comfy leather couch & huge coffee table!

The flat screen tv and tv console

The tv in my bedroom

My huge & comfortable king size bed

The red-hot second room

The sleek and modern kitchen where I spent alot of time here.

The cool shower and glass partition.

The black tiles and nice bath tub

Finally, the magificent view of the canal from the apartment!!

Apart from all that, I love all the cooking utensils too! I wish they are all mine!!

I love this metallic silver hob,oven and burner set!

I love this Silver microwave oven!

I love this silver electric kettle too!

I would love to buy one of this toaster!

Lastly, I also love to have these cute sugar,coffee & tea containers as well!

Nice eh??

How we celebrated Raya?

2008-11-09T10:41:00.000+08:00

Well, this year, Raya fell on a Wednesday, which unfortunately is a workday here in the UK. Worse still, it was our busiest week. CT had to rush for her Pretest while I had to rush for a special process setup. So we had to postphone the celebration to the weekends.

CT being a great chef whipped out a great Nasi Lemak dish again. Check it out!

CT's trademark Nasi lemak....it's just too yummy ...

Waterfalls

2008-11-09T10:18:00.000+08:00

A few months ago, Ian took us to a short trip to somewhere near Inverkeithing for trekking. It's a shame that I can't really remember the name of the place but I'll let the pictures do the talking. Frankly, I have never expected UK to have waterfalls..and yes it looks like the one in Malaysia, the only difference is that the one in UK, you can't really swim in them or you'll froze to death!

That's me before the trek
CT,Ib (CT's bf) and Pauline(Ian's wife)
A few of the waterfalls

Nice view on top of the hill

Travel stories - South of England

2008-11-09T06:19:00.000+08:00

This is a long outdated post of my trip to South England on my 5th Week here with CT. If I don't blog about it, I'll probably forget about it next time and this will be a shame. So here it is, our weekend trip to South of England, a short yet sweet and memorable one.

For this trip, we chose to fly as the flight cost from Edinburgh to Bristol, our first stop was much cheaper by air than by train. Yeah I know, crazy isn't it?... Our plan is to actually meet up with a friend of ours from the company, Ian.We will be staying over his place for just one night. He must be the nicest and kindest person that I've ever met so far. Ian's from Reading and it will take him about an hour's drive to Bristol Airport to meet us. When we first arrived at Bristol, the weather was very foggy, with visibility of less than 10 metres.

Our first destination was heading South to Cheddar at the Sommerset County. Yes, Cheddar as in Cheddar cheese, the home where cheese were first made. We, however were not going there for the cheese. With the foggy weather, we kept our fingers crossed as we made our way to the Cheddar Gorge. When the sun came out, weather improved slightly and boy, it was indeed a sight to behold looking at the marvellous view of the Gorge, just like giant scultures carved out of rocks. Somehow, the view reminded me of the limestone hills on the way to Ipoh..haha...Never can I imagine that there's actually a limestone gorge in England! There were even primitive Bronze Age sheep species, known as "soay sheep" grazing on the hillslopes.

Magnificent view at Cheddar Gorge

That's me posing :D

That's CT posing too

Information on floras and faunas found here

Before the Cheddar Gorge, we did past by the Cheddar Village, which is a pretty little village, very touristy in fact. You can also see and participate in how cheese were made and all in one of the shops. I must admit that CT and I have grown so old these days that getting out of the car to visit these places of interest is more of a chore. We thus chose to just have a quick drive through this town and head for the next destination.

The next destination, we went further South to Glastonbury. Nothing much here except that this is where the headquarter of Clarks ( the famous shoe company) is based. The interesting part here was that there is a shopping village started by Clarks company known as Clarks Village. From a humble beginnings of only 1 shop selling Clarks shoes this shopping village has now grown to cater for more shops that gradually transformed this village into an outlet mall. Brandnames like Timberland, Nike, Gap and Thorthons etc has opened an outlet here too. As usual, shopping is our favourite and with the limited amount of time that we have, we shopped with our adrenaline rushing, whizzing by shop by shop with quick purchases! We simply love shopping!!!!!!!!!

We took our lunch at the food village and make our way to the next destination towards the town of Salisbury at Wiltshire County. On the way, we make a quick detour to check out a winery in one of the little farms scattered all along the backroads we took. Unfortunately, no wineries found but we saw some sheep farms and loads of wild raspberry! We also drove through the Haynes Motor Museum. Ian told us that Haynes is world famous company that provides services to write manuals about DIY repairs for all kinds of vehicles. Interesting.

Sheeps and more sheeps

Wild raspberry bushes

Haynes Motor Museum with a tanker and old double decker bus as exhibits.

After about 2 hours drive, we arrived at Salisbury, the home of Stonehenge. Amazingly, the structure looked smaller than I thought. With the sunny weather and blue sky, the structure looked magnificent. We chose not to pay for the entrance (it costs 6 pounds) as we could well see the structure clearly behind the fence. It has always being my dream to visit all the Unesco World Heritage sites, and I was glad that I can now take this off my list of to-visit :).

Idylic settings at the Stonehenge
Ian relaxing, enjoying the sun

Next off, we head home to Ian's for a BBQ feast.We had the chance to have a look at Reading, and to our surprise Reading was an industrial town with many factories. Microsoft and Oracle has a huge offices there too! When we arrived home, it was already eight, and after we took our dinner and bath, we just hit the sack. It was indeed a tiring day.

Behind CT is Ian's nice and cozy semi-detached home

There's a little Flight Museum at Reading too

Day no.2, the final day, we manage to squeeze our itinery to visit the Windsor Castle at Berkshire. I think this is Queen Elizabeth's weekend retreat. How I wish I have a home like that! Oh, we even saw a cute little crooked House at Windsor also called the Crooked House of Windsor.

Windsor Castle, with a statue of Queen Victoria by the entrance

The Crooked House of Windsor, see how crooked it is? I wonder if there's a crooked lady living there? :D

Next, our plan was to head up North to the town of Oxford, the old university town. Oxford University a.ka. Oxbridge is a place that I have dreamt of and still is dreaming of studying at one day alongside Harvard and MIT..(wishful thinking). At Oxford,we just make a quick drive around the town to save time. One that is worth mentioning is that along the way, we did pass by many quaint little towns which was indeed very pretty too. The next destination is to head up further North to the Northampton County. Our plan is to stop by Silverstone, yes, the home of motorsports, Formula 1. When we were there, I think there was a motorcycle Grand Prix.

Yeah SILVERSTONE, we made it!!

The entrance

Big bikes of a myriad of colors parked outside the circuit during a Motor GP

BMW Mini plant at Swindon nearby Oxford

One of the nice lil' town we passed by.

We also make a quick drivethrough to the University of Southampton to check out the campus, who knows we might further our studies there one day.We then head off to Stratford-Upon-Avon, the town were Shakespeare grew up. Along the way, we also stopped by the Aston Martin headquarter for a quick snapshot while Ian read the map! :D..too bad we were not allowed to get in.

Aston Martin, I want

Our final destination was to get to Cadbury's world in Birmingham. I envisioned it to be something out of Charlie and the Chocolate factory but thankfully not. By the time we got there, it was already 3.45pm. Luckily we were short of 15 minutes before the factory closed and we could make it in time. In fact, we were the last visitors of the day! The factory tour was pretty educational and we were given a few complimentary chocolates too! As usual, the last stop would be the Chocolate shop, and we did buy some chocs and souvenirs as well :D.

Demonstration on how chocs filling are traditionally put

CT and I have turned "chocolaty"...check us out here...

CT marking her territory with non other than chocs of course!

We will be here forever...

After our tour, Ian dropped us off at Birmingham airport where we bade goodbye to him. I would say that this is indeed a short trip but well worth it. Thanks so much to our dear friend, Ian for accompanying us and be our designated driver for the day. It's indeed a memorable trip :)

The End.

RE: Hard work doesn't always pays off

2008-10-11T03:40:00.000+08:00

As unhappy as I was in my previous posts, I have this little voice in me that keeps telling me that things will get better. To me, I do find it kinda hard focusing on my work, and at the same time, trying to convince myself that everything will be alright. Deadline is approaching and yet I am not in productive mode. This tiny voice really keeps me going for the last few days. Anyway, as much as I hate it, things just took a turn for the worse today.Reality bites, I should have seen this coming.

I was working from home yesterday night ( Read: I AM STILL WORKING) when I turned on my laptop. At that time it was already almost midnight. When I opened my mailbox, an email titled "Message from Bill" caught my attention. This is not like any other communication email that I receive all the time, I thought. Then it hits me. This is a message from our CEO. My heart skipped.

The next thing I knew, my heart just sank. My worst fear has happened. To summed it all up, basically I shall be receiving 0% increment for next year. (Read: ZERO). Apart from that, if there's a promotion, there will not be any salary increment too. Stock purchase plan has changed and variable pay (ARV) will be computed differently with some percentage to go to Individual performance bonuses, all for the worse of course. At that moment, I felt that all my hard work, and effort have evaporated into thin air. What a bummer!

My feelings was a mixture of sadness, dissapointment, frustration, distraught, disgust, horrified, confused (anymore negative words) all broiling inside me. It's hard for me to fathom that hard work doesn't always pay off....I have learnt it the hard way. I 've come to a realization that when economic situation is in turmoil, situation changes. I must have taken things for granted all these while thus I am ignoring all the "visible signs".

So how am I dealing with this now?

On one hand I can start to run amok, cry like a baby, go bitching and complain about my life each day, cursing everybody that crosses my path, stop working completely, or send out hate mails to my managers or perhaps go to work looking like a drunken zombie, you name it.

On the other hand, I can keep up with my good work, keep improving my skills, enhance my knowledge, constantly look out for better opportunity (be it in another job opening or scholarship offers), or maybe delve into some side business or learn to do some investment and etc etc....

Looking at the options, I think I'd prefer the latter. I don't think I'd have the energy like the Incredible Hulk, running amok, hating everyone and passing abusive remarks. It may sound silly, but I'd rather keep up with what I am doing now regardless of what the situation is now. There's a saying that goes "When one door closes, another door opens". So for now, I will try to live by it, constantly looking for the "door" that's open. I shall persevere. My moment will come one day. I just need to be a wee bit more patient.

I know it's easier said than done..I have had my "down" moments and emotional outburst for days now, so I think it is time for me to get back on my feet. My little voice is back. She's telling me that this is temporary, have more faith and things will just get better..again..only time will tell..but I will not give up!

Does hard work pays off?

2008-10-09T04:52:00.001+08:00

Somehow, I am emotionally drained...it has been the 2nd week that I have not been blogging..I think it is lame to say that I am busy...I know that I need to have a life...but somehow it just bothers me so much if I am not getting my tasks done. I am busy, worst still I am feeling unhappy...:(..

I guess it is just one of those days when I am feeling stressed out...Sometimes, I really do wonder if all the hard work and effort I put in do pay off? It's the feeling of frustration that drives me crazy..why do I choose to take the long and winding road? Why am I putting such a high expectations on my self? *sigh*

It's been years but I have yet to reap the fruits that I've sowed....sometimes I do wonder if I am doing the right thing? That's something that I don't know..I just feel sooo lost now.....

I guess I just need to hang in there a lil' bit longer...only time will tell...

Home Alone

2008-09-21T06:54:00.000+08:00

CT's bf decided to take some time off from his flight school exam(how coool is that) and "flew" over here for two weeks to be with her sayang, ooo...jealousnyerr...Well, of course he's not a certified pilot yet, but I'm sure he'll be able to do that one day...CT will have her personal superman then :D

As for myself, whenever we have guests at home, I'll try to be as considerate as possible, not wanting to be the "spotlight" whenever I can. So I pandai-pandailar this week, try to give these two love birds some time of their own.. This weekend, they are off to The Highlands(where the Highlanders roam) for their "honeymoon", so I'm left home alone...pity me,hor...(CT, in case u are reading this, I am just joking, hehe..I'm sure you know how I love lazing at home!)

So what did I do? As usual, by the time I got up, I am ready for brunch, no cool meals this time as I'm eating leftovers from yesterday. After that, I dilly dally a bit, and then ....and then....

........... .................. ..................................................... .... .... ..

I went to WORK. Yes, I went back to work on a beautiful,sunny Saturday!

Yea, yea..I know you must be thinking I am crazy, but but but...you knowlar, I am sent here to ~~enjoy~~ work mar, and the work environment here is not something to shout about. All my host manager does is to demand this demand that. If he said "I want this done by Monday!",I, as the "servant" of my company must try to comply. Sad huh...

In this project that I'm involved in,I have to put in 10% effort and 90% of imagination (pun intended!). But plenty of imagination(not dirty wan lar) is a fact simply because the product that I am supposed to be working on is not 100% ready yet. So I have to put my imagination to good use when I am developing test on it. I'd imagine if I continue to build up my skills in this field, I'll be the perfect candidate for "blackbox" design company next time! lol...

From the archive..down memory lane

2008-09-15T05:04:00.000+08:00

When I looked back(or should I say think back), I do have some regrets for not blogging about all my previous trips. Procrastination should be blame for it, a super duper lame excuse, I know.

After thinking long and hard (yeah right), I decided to make up for this by posting up some of the pictures I took previously, be it the stuffs I cooked, my adventures or any kind of snapshots I took along my travels at least once a week. These pics will be selected from the thousands I have currently stored in my 180 GB HDD. Rather than keeping them there to rot, why not share it out right? :) ..A very good way for me to reflect back on what I did as well as a great way to test my memory too!

Ok, so for today, fresh out from ellwye's vault, here's some pictures of what we cooked last time back in Edinburgh in 2007. Please note the usage of "we" here as I am not here to take all the credits, of course. My previous housemate in Edinburgh was YS, whom is my current boss btw. At that time, we experimented on many different kinds of dishes and I remembered that we always have small dinner/lunch gatherings amongst a few other colleagues whenever any of us cooked anything nice that day...

So without further adieu, I shall present to you our culinary flair...

Ladies and gentlemen, please feel free to drool now... :D

Our mouth-watering Ipoh-style Chicken Rice with bean sprouts and cabbage soup.

Popiah/Springroll

( Deep fried version and Steamed version)
Stuffings consisted of meat,tofu,carrots,mushrooms,eggs and beansprouts.

Nasi Lemak sambal ikan bilis + egg

Lazy Sunday

2008-09-14T22:50:00.000+08:00

When I woke up this morning, the sun was shining so brightly, I can barely opened my eyes when I rolled the curtains back..Wow, what a beautiful day! Definitely a change from the typical, cold, cloudy and gloomy weather.

In such a good weather..I told myself that I shouldn't be all couped up in the apartment, I need to get out, get some fresh air..So my plan is to get outside after lunch, maybe u know, do more shopping? hehe........So... right after lunch, and after getting all the dishes done, I looked out of the window..and..... guess what?
Argh!! The clouds are back, the weather has changed, back to the cold, gloomy condition..sigh..

This is very typical of the weather here, at one time it may be all sunny and dry and in a matter of minutes, things might change for the worse...You'll be whipped with strong gales and the sky will turn all dark and gloomy...Not surprising, Scottish actually dressed up to match with the gloomy weather here..The choice of colours are usually dark, like black, grey and dark blue!

Oh well, I'd rather stay home for another day then. Time for more internet surfing (reading blogs!) and more milk tea please.. (teh peng :D)....

Home away from home, but what's "home" to you?

2008-09-13T23:45:00.001+08:00

I'd always love staying at home on the weekends. Today is just like one of the many weekends that I'd sleep-in till almost midday (I'm a real pig, sleeping is my hobby btw). The day will usually start with me having a brunch instead of breakfast. Then I'll brew some tea, and while enjoying my tea I'll be surfing the internet.

As of late, reading blogs about Malaysian political news have been my favourite pastimes. I think you would have guessed what I am talking about and where this will leads to.The more I read, the more radical my thoughts would be. As ignorant as I may be, the news these days is not something that you will just bat an eyelid and forget bout it the next day. How much more can the they deprive us, how much more can they deceive us?

The arrest of RPK, Theresa Kok and SinChew reporter under ISA. Is this a joke?
This is clearly a practice of injustice in broad daylight. What does democracy means when the draconian law of ISA could detain just about anyone without a trial? What is human rights? What do you mean by freedom of speech by the Malaysian context?

I am just so dissapointed right now..sigh..

Let's pray for those who fight for us, let's pray for RPK and Theresa's release....

Forth Bridge..an annual ritual

2008-09-08T06:28:00.000+08:00

For everyone (from my company) travelling to SQF, it must be a ritual of sort to visit the two great bridges -The Forth Rail Bridge (built on the 19th Century) and Forth Bridge (ala Penang Bridge) connecting North and South Queensferry. Well, I must admit that it was really a sight to behold, the architecture of the red Forth Rail Bridge across the Firth of Forth.

As for me, yes, it was a ritual of sort for me too. I don't think I'll ever get bored of this place...
That's me back in April 2007

That's me recently on September 2008

NOTE: Let me find where's my 2005 photos and I'll post it up later...It should be in one of my backup CDs.

Apart from that, CT's friend, Bulat and Ivy came all the way from Manchester for a visit. Initially, they were kinda reluctant to visit this please as it wasn't really a touristy place I guess, but when they arrived (it was freezing by the way, the wind there was chilling!!) they probably changed their mind! Who can resist such a pretty view of the majestic bridge ? :)

[Top]: Bulat, Me & Ivy ; [Bottom]: Bulat, CT & Ivy ( we're at Queensferry Town)

Weekend Cookout#3

2008-09-08T06:14:00.000+08:00

This week, we cooked a sinfully delicious meal of authentic Nasi Lemak, with sambal, ikan bilis, eggs and acar! Fantastic!!

Menu:
1. Acar (cucumber, onion,carrots)
2. Fried ikan bilis
3. Masala chicken
4. Sambal for ikan bilis
5. Boiled eggs

Nasi Lemak Apt no:11 ..Any takers ? :)

Ratings: 8/10

On top of that, we also baked our first chocolate cake!!!! The cake looked horrendous on the exterior but thankfully, it tasted good! What an achievement! :D

From left to right: Chocolate cake fresh from oven; that's me trying to save a slice from falling out, we forgot to snap a picture before we cut it! lol!

Ceeeeeleeeebraaaaatiooooooon!

2008-09-08T05:59:00.001+08:00

Last Tuesday was a lucky day for me as CT decided to give me a treat. Well of course it was an even happier occasion for CT , but I shall not reveal here, for privacy sake :) ..Anyway, all good things must be celebrated with food, glorious food! So we went to Sushiya, aahh...we simpy love Japanese food...

Here's some crazy pics we took:

See..CT could't help smiling,isn't it obvious?..lol

That's me enjoying my Teriyaki Chicken set! Yummy!

CT gobbling down the sushi of her choice..forgot the name :D

Weekend Cookout#2

2008-09-08T05:54:00.000+08:00

On the 2nd weekend, here's our Menu:

1. Brinjal with Sambal
2. Tumeric Chicken
3. Fried Ikan Bilis
4. Sambal (for Ikan Bilis)

Ratings:6/10

[Top left]:The super spicy sambal brinjal, not a very nice shot..
[Top right] :A horrible presentation of the tumeric chicken, looked gross right?

Scotland national emblem

2008-09-08T05:34:00.001+08:00

Having been here so many times ,I am embarassed to say that I have not actually seen the Scottish National Symbol the Thistle. Besides tartan,blowpipes and kilts, the Thistle is perhaps one of the most identifiable symbols of all things Scottish. Funny, Thistle is actually a humble weed, commonly found in Scotland. For this trip, I vowed to myself that I should try to spot one this time around. Surprisingly, I did find one, during my shopping trip in Livingstone..

Ah, what a great feeling! :)

Here's a pic that I captured!

The Scottish thistle

Fireworks Galore!

2008-09-08T02:01:00.000+08:00

Guess what?

The date is 31st of August 2008 and fireworks display being lined up.

You must be thinking of Merdeka Celebrations? :)

Well, not really...and coincidentally, there's a celebration of a different kind over here in Edinburgh City.

For the past months, Edinburgh was the host of a few International festivals in the likes of Edinburgh Festival, Fringe Festival , Book Festival etc. At the end of these festivals, it is customary that the closing ceremony will end with as much aplomb as the beginning, thus tourists/visitors will be mesmerized with a 45-minutes fireworks display dancing to the beautiful live music played by world-renowed Scottish Chamber Orchestra while a fireworks team based in the castle provides synchronised visual accompaniment.

Of course to watch the live Orchestra, one would have to pay, but we can always catch it FOC from a few vantage points, the best would be Princess Street.I have watched a similar event last year, and it was really a great experience! This year, I will be going again this time with CT. We thought the show will not commence until 10pm(according to the website) but somehow the show began at 9pm sharp. Which means that we missed about half hour of the spectacle by the time we got to Princess Street! The place was really crowded by the time we got there! Now I know why we need to leave earlier to bag a good spot !!

Here's some snapshots of the fantastic spectacle. Please note that I am no professional photographer, so please bear with the quality of the pictures! hehe.. Enjoy!

Last year: 2/09/2007

It was just like yesterday..

I still remembered vividly...last year when we were trying to snap a pic of all of us (4 of us) without a tripod.Each time we tried, the person holding the camera will look kinda funny (face looked too big, distorted view etc..hahaha)..This one turned out to be the best. Guess who's holding the camera?? :D

Fast Forward to this year: 31/8/2008

Nice eh? But too bad, my photography skills is a bit cacat..

the pics looked a bit blurr!...

Aihh.. no chance to take a pic with CT too...:(..Too many ppl ler..

Shop till we drop!

2008-09-08T01:33:00.000+08:00

I find it funny that it has to take me on my 3rd trip to Scotland to realise that there's actually a factory outlet here, barely 40 mins drive from Edinburgh, in the South of Livingstone.Of course I have heard many times that shopping in Livingstone is great but I always have the impression that the malls in Livingstone is just like any other malls in Edinburgh perhaps slightly bigger. Boy, was I wrong. Never had I imagine that Livingstone is actually a shopping haven, a congregation of all the outlets of great brands like Gap, Next,Topshop etc just like the outlet malls in the US!

Our trip to Livingstone was kinda impromptu. We have planned to go to the car boot sale nearby St.James Square that Saturday morning only to realise that the sale is only available on Sunday. Talk about bad planning :(. At that instance, we decided to head West to Livingstone instead. It was just a quick check on the internet, and the next thing we knew we're on the bus on our way there. We took the Lothian bus (No.1) to Gorgie Road(pronounced Gor-Gee instead of Jor-Ji) and from there the FirstLine bus no 76 heading towards Bathgate/Livingstone. We were kinda lost initially (due to last minute planning) and we have to ask a few passers-by to confirm on the correct bus we need to take! Btw, a return ticket for Lothian bus costs 2.50 while a single ticket from Gorgie Road to Livingstone costs 4.30.

The journey there was really scenic! The best part was that we got the front row upper deck seat on the double decker bus, which offered a great 180 degress view of the countryside along the way to Livingstone!

CT and I, posing at the double decker bus. We're on the front row of the bus!
The mall is called Almondvale Shopping Center and it sits right beside the Livingstone Designer Outlet. Almondvale is a huge mall with at least 200 outlets, and now they have an extension that will be ready by winter 2008. Brandnames at the outlets includes the likes of GAP, Matalan,TK Maxx and etc.

The interior of the Almondvale Shopping Center

So, how cheap are the stuffs here? To me, it is very cheap, at least when it is on sale!!!Well, the best part was that at that time, the outlets were having a Clearance Sale to get rid of the summer season stocks. Summer clothings was definitely what we were looking for!!!Woo hoo!!!

At last count, I got 3 pairs of GAP pants at the price of 3.99 pounds each, can you believe it???CT on the other hand, bought a cute leather handbag from NeXT for 10 pounds and a pair of pure leather shoes for less than 20 pounds! What a bargain!Oh, my only complain is that I could not buy more as I need to ensure that I do not exceed my baggage limit when I get home. The limit is a mere 20 kg, and my luggage bag itself already weighs a whopping 8 kg!! waaaaaaaa.... :'(

All in all, the trip was indeed a satisfying retail therapy for us!! Where's next? Glasgow ? :D

Prior to Scotland

2008-08-24T07:29:00.000+08:00

Back track to day #1 before we arrived in Scotland, here's some crazy snapshots we took.

Prior to Singapore-London flight:

That's our plane, the Airbus A380!

Some random camwhoring pics we took while transiting in London.

Posing at Kesington Park

Surprise surprise

2008-08-24T07:22:00.000+08:00

I was looking out of the window and to my utter amazement I saw this.

It's a PINK Limo! It's parked right in front of our apartment!
I have never really seen a real PINK limo before, so since it matches my blog template, I thought of posting it here... hehe...