Christmas Buzz

'Tis the season to be jollyy..... fa la la la la la la la ...

Christmas has come and go. It's insane how fast time passes when you are not noticing. This year has gone by incredibly fast, it felt like just weeks ago that I was packing to go away, and now I'm back, and the year is coming to an end.
This year, it's a pretty quiet celebration for us, well, the party on Xmas eve wasn't exactly quiet, but it was far from wild. It was a simple get together for family and friends. As usual, I'm just chef and the maid at the end of the event. Not that I minded doing it, but it was all so much work! Thanks to the fuss made by Dad before the party started, I do not have good pictures of the food that I've been slaving over. What fuss did he make? Well, it all started when I placed all the food on the table, he thought it wasn't enough for our guests, and being the stubborn man he is, we went out to the supermarket to get somemore food. We came back with 4 bags of frozen chicken and sausages, 3 loaves of bread, more Coca-Cola, and 100 sticks of satay(which totally spoiled my theme of a roast dinner!). Well, since he dragged me out, I didn't havethe opportunity to snapp pictures before the guest digged in. And at the end of the dinner party, there were leftovers of almost everything. And the frozen food were untouched, sitting nicely in the freezer. Men! They can't estimate food for a party ! But of course, I love my dad too much to tell him that in his face... We'll just tease him on and off for the whole of next year ! muahaha

Only a small group was still around to toast to Christmas at 12, well not exactly, cos we kinda made a toast at 11.30 pm! And then the cleaning followed, the part that I loath most. As Yi Ling was around for slumber, we stayed up chatting till bout 3am. And then we both crashed. The next day was spent putting away things from the night, and movie marathoning. That was my Christmas! hope you had a good one too,Happy holidays to you !

Backdated: Winter Solstice

It's that time of the year, where the Chinese would get together to make "tong yuen", with the idea of a reunion of all family members. It's more commonly known as "Gor Toong" , it means "Winter passing" .

I spent the day at Grandma's , helping her with prayers and preparations for dinner. And when it's time to make the small round glutinous rice balls, the kids are the happiest. Look what we did.

Backdated : Sushi Zanmai revisited

Am at Sushi Zanmai again, 2nd time this week. Was in One Utama with a few friends from uni on Monday, and then was there again in Gardens with JM. Since we both love Japanese so much, we ordered enough food for the village ! And the bill came up to 80+.. that wasn't too bad of a damage. After dinner, we watched Love Happens, and i was treated to the Premier Class @ Gardens.. My my.. it was a luxurious movie treat, I wouldn't even bother getting Gold Class !
( They even let us bring in our Krispy Kremes ! :P)

Some pics of our Jap feast..

The must have Salmon belly

Stamina roll - love the avocado , salmon platter in the back

All time favourite - Tempura moriawase

Backdated: Sky Treks

A few pics from the failed SkyTreks mission

The mission


All geared up


The long way up

Walk the plank?


The drenched me..

you thought you knew

you think that it's all over,
putting behind all that happened,
but as you move along, you find yourself turning around,
looking back at the pieces of the past,
wondering if the pieces could ever form a picture. Again.

you think it's all that simple,
given the distance, given the time,
but as you move along, you see, and you find,
that it's as complicated as ever,
then you stop and ponder,
the same question you have had forever,
but that's when you realised, you never did find the answer.

you thought you knew what you wanted most of the time,
but when you stop and ponder,
you find yourself at that familiar crossroad,
the very same one infact,
and this time you ask again,
which way should I take ?
and as you walk down the path,
you keep your fingers crossed,
hoping that it's the right way.

Was out last nite with Wai Mun and See Ying. Met up with the girls in The Cuve, the initial plan was to check out Library @ Curve, but the place was pretty packed. So Sanctuary it was then. Wai Mun had a few other friends with her, and it was a good nite to just chill and move along to the music. Have not been to Sanctuary for a while, being there last nite brought back some memories of the yester-years.

As I have to drive home this time, it was just one drink for me. I'm a responsible driver ok? well, a pretty reckless one. hahaha... So we left at 12+ and called it a nite.

Failed Mission :Skytreks

Went to Shah Alam yesterday to gate crash the ME Marketing Dept's Team Building. I've been wanting to try out the Sky Treks challenge, so when an opportunity came along, I grabbed it. Aha! Got there bout 1pm, it was good to meet up the rest of the gang. The activities started with a short briefing of safety precautions, and they gave us a lil help puttin on our harnesses. We are then to complete a short training, which is a sneak preview of what we will be doing inside. It started with a simple climb up a 'pipe ladder'. then a horizontal ladder of planks.,followed by a swing across into a web build from ropes, and finally a 'flying fox' to the ground. With a big group around, and having to wait for each and everyone to complete the training, the Big Thrill Challenge did not start until bout 3pm.

Raindrops were falling on our head as we took on the first challenge of the 23 different rope challenges, but we were told that we could proceed in the rain, unless a thunderstorm strikes. Well, maybe that instructor did jinx it, it started pouring cats and dogs, Michelle & I were up at the platform waiting for our turn to go down this long ladder built from plastic pipes. But due to time constraint, and the heavy rain, we were told to slide down a la "Flying Fox" all the way to the side where there is a descending "Chicken Net" for emergency exit purposes. In this case, it was us who needed it. I was running franctically to the shelter as my camera was getting soaked too. Good thing nothing happened to it.

So at 4.30pm, not only we did not complete the challenge, we were soaked thoroughly. It was a good thing that we are entitled to a reschedule. Looking forward to the new date !

The moment has passed

we once sat side by side, sharing a joke or two,
once young and naive, and even a fool,
we shared a moment.

then the distance came, and we were separated by miles,
but we never stopped caring,
sending joy and laughters through mails and phone calls,
it was then, we vouched to be there for each other,
through thick and thin, through the good times , through the gloomy moments,
again, we shared a moment.

then the distance came again, this time, the distance is felt at heart,
we were kept occupied - with our studies, with our friends, with our own lives,
efforts to stay in touch , were made in vain,
nevertheless, we still shared a moment

over the years, the distance in miles ceased, for i know you are nearer,
though we were once close at heart, but i've never felt closer like now,
but, it never happened then, and it will never happen now,
for the moment has passed.

Pictures of the hike up Bukit Tabur

Halfway there..

Eu Jin striking a kick

Overlooking the Klang Gates Dam

The Sunset view

The view of KL at dusk

The hiking trip

I don't think I'll ever be a good writer, thanks to my talent in procrastination. Been wanting to put up some pictures of my outing with my lil cousins, took them out to MidValley and The Curve the other day. Snapped some pretty pictures of my babyNatalie. Well, she is 6 years old, but still very much a baby to me !

Was supposed to meet up with a girl friend in One Utama for a girlie session, but due to some reasons on her side, it was called off. Well, I guess the change in plans was good for me as my poor legs do need the rest.
Yesterday I went for a hike at Bukit Tabur with 2 friends. As it was a last minute arrangement, it was just the 3 of us. We only started hiking at 5.20pm, EJ's friend said the hike will only take 2 hours. The hike up consisted of a combination of steep slopes and rocky structures. I find the the rock climbing to be a challenging feat, most of the time I was clinging on for life ! At one point, I think I was such a baby, cos I was stuck in the middle of the rock climbing,not knowing where to put my legs! So I was neither going up nor down ! But I made it in the end, pushed myself up all the day!
Well, thanks to me, who needed countless breaks on the way up, we only got up to the summit (apparently that was only the 2nd highest peak!) close to 7pm. Due to the thick smog, we only managed to catch a glimpse of the sunset. Unlike Ej's friend who is an experienced outdoor activities instructor, we were both beginners at this. As soon it turned dark, both of us got lil worried, and impatient. And going down wasn't easy at all, although there were no more rocky attempts, it was pretty steep and we were trying out best not to slip nor trip over the roots. Luckily Ej's friend had a torch with him, so that was fully utilized by me, shining the way for both me and EJ behind. As we passed by an orchard(we were told it was an orchard, not that I can see that! :P), there were several dogs barking at us, I find that harder than the rocks and slopes ! At that point, we felt like we were a thousand miles away from our icy cold 100 Plus. After the long walk down, we could finally see the main road in front of us. Yay! That was at 8.30pm, so it was exactly 3 hours of hiking. What a workout for me, I almost couldn't feel my legs. We rewarded ourselves with a cold Excel Isotonic, and dinner in Bandar Menjalara. Then we called it a nite.

What a day !

It's been a long day. Well, for someone who has been sitting home for a week, I think I had a pretty eventful day. Started with accompanying mom to the wet market, we went out at 10am. Some of you might think, 10 am?? The chickens and fish would be all dead by then, hang on, they are dead already. Our Kepong Baru market is a lil different, as there are probably about 100 stalls of vege, meat, chicken, clothes, breakfast, and misc goods, one is spoiled for choices here. I dare say that there are at least 3 stalls for each category. Having said that, I know for a fact that there is only one stall that sells beansprouts, or locally known as tauge. It was a piece of knowledge that I stumbled across by chance.

After market, I got ready, and left home for the train station. I was going to meet an ex-colleague for lunch - apart from catching up, I needed some HR advice from her. She decided to have lunch in Pizza Hut, urmm... don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like pizza, but I just had it yesterday.. so it was the Garden Salad and a coffee for me. It was good fun chatting and catching up with Sharan, thanks for lunch dear. Then I went up to ME to drop a present for my dear friend, it's a lil kiwi I bought in Queenstown for her. I thought she might need a lil furry company after the hard week she had. *hugs*

I had to head to Labour Office to clear out some issues, and the only way I knew how to get there was to jump on the cab. I have always been a lil paranoid about taking cabs, but I guess taking one in bright daylight, plus the fact that it's just a short distance, I was alright with it. My destination was Menara Perkeso, Jalan Ampang. Only when I got there, I knew it wasn't that far away.
The cab driver was quite friendly, but behind the chatty face, he tried to con my money! As he was going to stop me in front of my destination, the meter read RM6.90, so I pulled out a RM10 note for him, and he quickly said he had no change for that. His excuse was that he just left his house, and this is his first trip, thus not having any small notes with him. I thought that was hard to believe because
1-He is a cab driver, he should have small change with him all the time.
2-He did not even look in his wallet before stating that he had no change.

So I told him to pull over at the petrol station in front, he hesitated a lil, by saying that I will need to walk back. But I quickly said it's fine, and I got him to stop at this Iranian restaurant by the road, quickly got down to get some change. The Iranian man said I was smart because the cab driver was trying to cheat my money. To be honest, it was only at that point that I realised what the cab driver was up to! He was trying to get me to say " Keep the change!" And the fact that I am incomeless now, I wasn't going to part with my 3bucks ! So I walked back to the cab and wanted to pay him RM7.20, but he said " 7 ringgit cukuplar". And so his mission failed.. *grins proudly*

My matters at Labour Office was done within the hour, I am suprised by how efficient they are. I hope to hear from them soon! From the earlier ride on the cab, it didn't seem impossible to walk back towards town. So I slowly walked my way back, passed by several embassies, a few restaurants, a few construction sites, and there I was at a familiar crossroad. Right across the road was the Ampang Park LRT stop, of course, Menara Citibank. It seems like just yesterday where I get off that stop and went upstairs to for work. Oh well...

After walking for a thousand miles, I find myself in the familiar surroundings of KLCC. Since I was out in town, thought I might as well meet a friend for dinner, but the few that I 'ajak-ed' all declined.. so I hopped on the LRT and headed home. Was glad to be home after a long day...

On a Friday night

It's almost 2am, I'm watching Ugly Betty on the net, it's taking a while to stream it, so I thought I'll write a lil. Was feeling a lil low tonite, I was sitting home doing nothing on a Friday nite, for some unknown reason, it felt pathetic. I asked myself why, it's not that I was out every Friday night back then when I was working. I remembered going shopping alone, head home after that and just spend quality time with myself - reading, surfing the net, etc. It must be this too-much-time on my hands syndrome.. I have all day to do nothing, and then when it's night time, I do nothing again. Gosh, I really need to do something, soon ! The search has been done in vain though.

Last night, I went to Laundry@ The Curve with a friend, it was a spontaneous invitation, we had a drink there while this Fly FM event was happening. Well, besides great music, and a great pint of Strongbow, it was good to be out. I haven't been on a night out since I got back from NZ. Though I was there with my friend, I was very much sitting on my own at the bar enjoying the music. Well, to give him a little credit, he did introduce me to most of the people there, but as they were all with the media industry, I didn't have much to say to them. Just smile and nod. ( I was being polite!) Well, I did talk to some of the people in the group, and got their contacts, should be useful if I want a job there. Sweet as !

Well, I said I WAS feeling a little low, that means I am feeling better now. I had a very good conversation with someone on the phone just now. Yes, I rang him. I wondered if he was suprised to see my name flashing on his phone. or maybe it was just my number. Well, I'm glad I rang him tho, I must have blabbered on for more than half an hour, but it felt good. I went on ranting bout my cute lil cousins, my so called boss, my job hunt and some others. As I chatted with him, I realised how much I missed talking to him, and how well he listened to me. Thanks dear, for everything.

As I sit here alone, upstairs in the hall, I could hear Mom + Dad chatting and laughing away. It's sweet how they have this habit of staying up and chat away in bed. Don't get me wrong here, I am not writing about my parents bedtime activities. It's just that as I sit here watching my Ugly Betty, I could hear Mom laughing away. And then it hit me, it's amazing how my parents are still very much like young love birds at times. I can sometimes here them chatting till 3 , 4 am in the morning, they chat about the weirdest things at times, about going places, about the neighbours, and at times about politics ! After my own episode of emotional trauma, I don't know how much my faith stands about marriage. When I look at wedding pictures of friends on Facebook, it just seems so scary at times ! The most recent one was my two classmates that are high school sweethearts, and got hitched recently. It must be close to 10 years now... Wow.. how did they do it? Would I be able to find that kind of faith and commitment in myself, anytime soon? I wonder..

I'm jinxed !

What happened to my lovely pinky grey background?

It's almost as though I'm jinxed at blog designs.. Every time I meddle with the layout and design, the whole thing screws up..

Anyone out there willing to help me with it? :(

The question

For some reason, I always find myself feeling the loneliest at this hour of the nite. I'm thinking, it's probably because everyone in the house is asleep, and I'm still up? If only the answer is as simple as that. I find myself seeking deeper within myself, and the answer is still not surfacing yet. I keep asking myself the question, but I only have myself to blame that I am not trying my best to answer it, not just yet.

I will ask again tomorrow, and I will have the answer then.

What am I doing?

It's quarter to 11, I'm not sleepy, I'm not out, I'm not interested in FB anymore, what should I do?

Today was spent sitting at home. Got up early to finalise my letter, got it mailed to FL at the post office, sent them an email. I still can't believe it's all over just like that. At least have the courtesy of sitting down nicely and telling me rite?I can't help feeling betrayed too. Lesson learnt this time- do not trust ppl easily, ever again. That's probably one of my biggest weakness, I promised myself many times that I should becareful, and be more wary..but sama jer... tsk tsk tsk.

I received a call from Backhome today. It is a new backpacker in town, infact there was a feature article on last Saturday's Weekender. It is owned by Ng Ping Ho, a local talent. Does the name ring a bell? He is the man behind Kopitiam, Table for Two,Realiti and The Firm. The place looks really cool and cozy, hopefully it will change the perception most will have of local backpackers and hostels. The reason they called? I applied for a postion as Hotel Manager, thought it will be great fun, and it will be a sneak preview of the hospitality industry. The lady who rang mentioned the pay to me, and I have my thoughts about it. We'll see.

Got an email reply from Delectable, it's the cutest lil dessert shop. I came across it in Gardens yesterday when I was bumming around there. Then they were looking for someone too, thought I'll give it a go, since I'm not doing anything at the moment, and it will be great fun as I love baking too. Did a bit more reading on the shop, or more like the creator of the shop. It all started from Su. My my.. she is a very successful girl ! You can read more bout her on her blog - http://cookingismypassion.blogspot.com/.

So you see, nothing much happened today. Be it my social life, my work or others. hang on, what work? ok, that's Work in Progress then.

For now? prob back to my book. Am reading Danielle Steel's Wanderlust.