おいしい

info extract from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Shogun (将軍, shōgun?) is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The rank is equivalent to "general," a high officer in an army. As a title, it is the short form of sei-i taishōgun (征夷大将軍). The Imperial Court in Kyoto awarded this title first to the leaders of military expeditions against warlike peoples, and later to the heads of military governments at many times in the history of Japan.

well i thought it will be nice to give some intro on the word shogun. i was first introduced to shogun when i was barely a teenager. my family was practically hooked on james clavell's shogun, acted by richard chamberlain who was quite a looker there.

anyway. my team was treated to a long awaited dinner. we decided to try shogun @ 1u. dont ask me why shogun for a makan place. price for dinner on weekdays is rm48++. i read somewhere that this is saisaki branch but i prefer the spread here. but there were no sukiyaki here. the choices are quite huge making it ideal for group makan. the sashimi although not many choices, was fresh. normal salmon, tuna and another white meat fish. lack of labelling is one of the downside. i was a little disappointed as there were no grilled unagi or shashimos. only those sushi unagis. the sauce was missing when they refilled them. A few of us were also disappointed as pickled idako was also missing from the spread. i recommend the deep fried black sesame coated baby eel. a very tasty crunch. the tempura softshell crab was delicious too. true to some comments posted online by some past patron, the "complimentary" bake osyter was a let down. it was not fresh and the cream has no flavor at all. one per person. one of us remarked that it is one per person so it won't poison us being so "unfresh". hee hee. i had three. the dessert counter was a delight! my fave = syrup filled mini waffles. i have to confess, i actually hid some in my bags. you should have seen the antics fieni and me went thru to "steal" them. All in all, it was a good for value and ambiance is good too. it's in 1u, so go for a walk halfway, walk those fats off, and then tuck in more.

Vesak

article from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
" The decision to agree to celebrate Vesak as the Buddha’s birthday was formalized at the first Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (W.F.B.) held in Sri Lanka in 1950, although festivals at this time in the Buddhist world are a centuries-old tradition. The Resolution that was adopted at the World Conference reads as follows, "That this Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, while recording its appreciation of the gracious act of His Majesty, the Maharaja of Nepal in making the full-moon day of Vesak a Public Holiday in Nepal, earnestly requests the Heads of Governments of all countries in which large or small number of Buddhists are to be found, to take steps to make the full-moon day in the month of May a Public Holiday in honour of the Buddha, who is universally acclaimed as one of the greatest benefactors of Humanity."
Hence on Vesak Day, Buddhists all over the world commemorate three great events: The birth, enlightenment and the passing away of Gautama Buddha. As Buddhism spread from India to all parts of the world, the teachings were readily assimilated with the cultures of the people who accepted the teachings. As a result, Buddhist art and culture took on a rich variety of forms with profound gentleness and kindness as the Buddha expressly forbade the use of force. The practice of Buddhism was adapted in many ways to suit the nature of the various cultures that accepted it. As a result of this, Vesak is celebrated in many different ways all over the world. But in essence many practices have become universal. This sacred day is purely a religious festival, and not a festive occasion. On this day all Buddhists are expected to reaffirm their faith in the Buddha Dhamma and to lead a noble religious life. It is a day for meditation and for radiating Loving-Kindness. "

chants

HOMAGE TO LORD BUDDHA
Namo tassa, bhagavato, arahato samma sambuddhasa
Namo tassa, bhagavato, arahato samma sambuddhasa
Namo tassa, bhagavato, arahato, samma sambuddhasa
(Homage to the Lord, the Emancipated, the All-Enlightened Buddha, three times)
REQUESTING THE TRIPLE REFUGE AND FIVE PRECEPTS
Mayang Bhante Tisaranena Saha Panca Silani Yacama
(May I receive the Triple Refuge together with the Five Precepts)
Dutiyampi, Mayang Bhante Tisaranena Saha Panca Silani Yacama
(For the second time, May I receive the Triple Refuge together with the Five Precepts)
Tatiyampi, Mayang Bhante Tisaranena Saha Panca Silani Yacama
(For the third time, May I receive the Triple Refuge together with the Five Precepts)

Namo tassa, bhagavato, arahato samma sambuddhasa
Namo tassa, bhagavato, arahato samma sambuddhasa
Namo tassa, bhagavato, arahato, samma sambuddhasa
(Homage to the Lord, the Emancipated, the All-Enlightened Buddha)

Buddhang saranang gacchami (I accept the Buddha as my refuge)
Dhammang saranang gacchami (I accept the Dhamma as my refuge)
Sanghang saranang gacchami (I accept the Sangha as my refuge)
Dutiyampi Buddhang saranang gacchami (For the second time, I accept the Buddha as my refuge)
Dutiyampi Dhammang saranang gacchami (For the second time, I accept the Dhamma as my refuge)
Dutiyampi Sanghang saranang gacchami (For the second time, I accept the Sangha as my refuge)
Tatiyampi Buddhang saranang gacchami (For the third time, I accept the Buddha as my refuge)
Tatiyampi Dhammang saranang gacchami (For the third time, I accept the Dhamma as my refuge)
Tatiyampi Sanghang saranang gacchami (For the third time, I accept the Sangha as my refuge)

ACCEPTANCE OF THE FIVE PRECEPTS
Panatipata veramani sikkhapadang samadiyami. (I undertake to observe the precept of refraining from killing)
Adinnadana veramani sikkhapadang samadiyami. (I undertake to observe the precept of refraining from theft)
Kamesu micchacara veramani sikkhapadang samadiyami. (I undertake to observe the precept of refraining from sexual immorality)
Musavada veramani sikkhapadang samadiyami. (I undertake to observe the precept of refraining from wrong speech)
Sura meraya majja pamadatthana veramani sikkhapadang samadiyami. (I undertake to observe the precept of refraining from taking intoxicants)

happy MOM's day!

this is dedicated to my mami. although i think these celebration to commerate moms is just some commercial gimmick i still brought my mom for makan. i mean one must appreciate and take good care of one's mom daily. not only May 14 annually. anyway, below are some candid shots of my mami enjoying her udon. well, it's not taken on mom's day... we treated her to a japanese dinner on one fine weekend.

shake-alakalaka

ok. i admit. i have fallen to another diet fad. hope it works this time cos fong lost like 5-7kg in 3 mths. her case straight away made me interested but was with reservation as my past experience with meal replacement wasnt a colorful one. it was like putting mud paste in your mouth. true! but this current shake i am taking ... it's yummy! even on its own. well i only tried tropical fruit n french vanilla. Fave combinations so far :
- low fat milk+carrot juice n some pulp
- strawberry lassi (strawberries too expensive)
- crushed watermelon
- crushed watermelon + strawberry lassi (which was too sweet as the watermelon was terribly sweet!)
- low-fat milk + cocoa powder
initial result
after a week, i just lost 1kg n managed to keep it that way. hope to continuously lose about 1kg/week to achieve at least 20kg in 6 mths time. OMFG! i sounded like some slimming centre promoter. well i am not promoting anything but if you are interested in knowing what i am taking, let me know. how? by dropping a comment, silly!

rain rain go away

at last. i managed to go for my long planned brisk walk (still too bulgy to jog - hazardous to health) @ putrajaya lakeside. perhaps it was the nice cloudy weather. perhaps it was the calm body of water reflections. it was an almost perfect place to relax n er... walk. the houses around the lake was very nice n with the great view to boot! bridget n i dreamt to own one each. ahh.
even GOD doesnt want you to exercise?!
well the day i planned for the start of my long procrastinated walk, it rained. so bridget n hubby made the title remark. well. i guess not. cos it stopped before we left office. after barely 30mins and i just got my engine started with my k-songs, it began to drizzle. aaa. god must be pulling my legs man! so we left and ended up stuffing ourselves with a steamboat dinner @ puchong. aiyayaya.

bushy brows no more

at last. bushy brows days are gone. i got them plucked, trimmed and shaped on monday and it was a steal! at first i was quoted rm30 for the service by the facial lady. lucky for me they were having a roadshow for the newly opened beauty parlor @ ioi mall. so i paid rm38 for a facial which normally (suspect they hiked up the price...) rm23x. pretty satisfied with both the brow and facial job.

shopoholic on the prowl

oh carol!
caught up with carol today. great to know she is still the same old chabo. it's labours' day's sales!! had a fantabulous time shopping @ 1u and failed to convince her to buy a pink pant suit which is so sweet and demure. a total opposite of her character. i mean that's the whole idea. to project a kitten image so ppl wouldn't suspect the what a tiger she is - meow! anyway she ended up buying a rm3xx dark blue pinstrip suit from g2000 which is also very neat (and has not been formally launch until next thurs). it shouts "don't mess with me". and if you know carol - it's her.
as for me, i nearly bought a dorothy perkin's mini cardigan which fits me like a second skin ... yea that's the problem. meaning, all the buldges from the wrong places were showing. but it was like 50% off! and costs only rm45! :( i thought to get it to motivate meself to loose some buldges... thanks (partially my heart was fuming ...) to carol's wise phrase of the day "let to clothes fit you, not you fit them".
another piece of jewelry to my collections
so to compensate this loss, i got meself somemore earrings and a set from denni. well the earrings was pretty expensive. over a hundred but the pattern is unique and could be worn 3 patterns. the set (yet another pair of earrings with a necklace n pendant) is cheaper than the earrings. (earrings double rr? or single r? ....) . felt pretty happy though. i mean altogether they are beautiful and much cheaper than those gold ones from pohkong that i intended to reward myself. (*just received increment and bonus). yea it might be gold but then again, what's the diff? i wear it on my ears and who know's it is solid gold. unless you are thinking of investing in gold. anyway, pat on my back, i managed to resist buying shoes... kept reminding myself there's no more space @ shoe selves.
motivated
besides the great exercise brisk walking - especially hunting to satisfy our coffee addiction, all those pretty suits and darn minuet blouses motivated me to shed my extra baggages. will i prevail in this battle of the buldges?
chillis
anyways, i would like to give a positive comment on Chilli's staff @ 1u. last of the honest staffs around by safekeeping carol misplaced purse. keep up the great job!

visit south korea 2007

aaa. you are shocked. so you think it is too early to plan for a 2007 trip. dont be. at least for my case. firstly, it's better to plan early so it could be detailed. then, this means i can expand my budget as i have more time to save more $$$. so it's not a bad idea to start so early, eh?
so. you are thinking that i just came back from one vacation and is now planning for another? well this korea thingy, it was actually planned for last year. well, the trip was put on hold as i was eagerly planning n saving for the failed job transfer to prague. although i was able to take it the second time around (boris managed to convince me that the transfer was on when there were rumor that the coc was not going to be in prg... a messy story that), but when i realised at first that i wasnt getting my dream transfer, i was quite devastated. but hey, life goes on. look at the bright side. my hk trip materialised.
ok. back to korea... this time i decided, mom-daugther backpacking thing is not a good idea after philippines. it is going to be me me me. but then thinking of economising my trip, hurumph, getting a company is better. first name come to mind - carol. why carol? cos her time is flexi - she got like 30+days of leave!! yea lucky b*tch. also, i've talked about bpacking w/her before and she agreed. this trip will take at least 2 weeks. and i am sure loads of you that i know and have came across my mind as my travel buddies will not be able to take such leave. so mianwhayo if you werent approached. however, pls feel free to contact me if you are interested to be my travel buddy :).
culture and nature are 2 tops aspect i'm really interested when in foreign land. and korea has both - which is why i chose it. taiwan will be my next destination. although india crept into my mind but had to put it on hold as i'm not ready to face the hygyene issue, yet. based on these 2 aspect, culture and nature, i've roughly decided a high level itinerary of places to visit :

seoul - 3d2n
east coast(Gangchon/Chuncheon/Sokcho/Mt. Seoraksan/Ulleungdo) - 6d7n
Busan & Gyeongju (sights)- 3d2n
Jeju (Jeju Getaway) - 3d2n
Chungcheong-do (Geumsan Ginseng Tour) 2d1n

So basically this would take up to 18 days. Throwing in another 1 day buffer means i need like 19 days. hmm not sure i would get that 18 days?

beaches, rivers, falls, hills, craters and TARSIER!!!!

sorry ... too lazy to write....

ran out of money

oo oo. i've ran out of money $$. n stupid maybank in malate rejected my transaction to withdraw $$$.... damn ....

west wing here we come

noooo. i am not going to the white house. it's my new office wing :) however, i wont be there to witness the movement, cos i'll be in philippines. yay!! sure was a busy day today. packing and disposing more than half my stuff i hoarded in3 yrs. i was pretty surprised that i ended up with only 2 and half boxes.

packing for philippines ...

after those packing in office, i continued packing for my trip to philippines. as usual i had so many last minute stuff to do....

why am i still single

Top reasons why ladies are still single :
1. the nice men are ugly.
2. the handsome men are not nice.
3. the handsome and nice men are gay.
4. the handsome, nice and heterosexual men are married.
5. the men who are not so handsome, but are nice men, have no money.
6. the men who are not so handsome, but are nice men with money think we are only after their money. (err...)
7. the handsome men without money are after our money.
8. the handsome men, who are not so nice a`nd somewhat heterosexual, don't think we are beautiful enough.
9. the men who think we are beautiful, that are heterosexual, somewhat nice and have money, are cowards.
10. the men who are somewhat handsome, somewhat nice and have some money and thank god are heterosexual, are shy and never make the first move!!!!
11. the men who never ma ke the first move, automatically lose interest in us when we take the initiative.

"men are like a fine wine. they all start out like grapes, and it's our job to stomp on them and keep them in the dark until they mature into something you'd like to have dinner with."

rose rose i love u

i thought i got over my fetish for earings but noOOoo. last time was anything with butterflies will hit my buttons but this time it's roses. luckily i didnt go overboard ... just got 2 pairs. i think they are quite unique.

lets hold candles in vigil

'tis a sad day today. one of my workmates met with an accident this morning. a bus hit him from the passenger side of the car and his car was dragged for quite a distance. fortunately he survived the ordeal.
be strong!
the doctor in uni. hosp. (transfered from putraj hosp) have managed to stop the internal bleeding from the spleen injury. this op successfully ended @ 2000 today. however he is still in icu and the neurologist and brain surgeon will examine him tomorrow. i believe he is a fighter and will emerge victoriously. Song - your wife, family and friends are with you all the way - 加 油!

囍

yesterday's wedding banquet brought back loads of fun times i had in all my buddies' wedding day. so i had to write something on them although some has been years ago as they are sweet sweet memories. below are the happy snap shots which speaks volume.

the legend of 囍
In the ancient Tang Dynasty, there was a student who was on the way to the capital to attend the national final examination, in which the top learners would be selected as the ministers in the court. Unfortunately, he fell ill halfway when he passed through a mountain village. Thanks to a herbalist doctor and his daughter, he was taken to their house and treated well. He recovered quickly due to the father and the daughter's good care. Well, when he had to leave, he found it hard to say good-bye to the pretty girl, and so did she. They fell in love. So the girl wrote down the right hand part of an antithetical couplet for the student to match:
"Green trees against the sky in the spring rain while the sky set off the spring trees in the obscuration."
"Well, I can make it though it is not easy. But you'll have to wait till I have finished the examination." replied the student. The young girl nodded in significance.
In the examination the young man won the first place, who was appreciated by the emperor. Also the winners were interviewed and tested by the emperor. As luck would have it, he was asked by the emperor to finish a couplet, which would need a right part as the answer. The emperor wrote:
"Red flowers dot the land in the breeze's chase while the land colored up in red after the kiss."
The young man realized immediately the right part of the couplet by the girl was the perfect fit to the emperor's couplet, so he took the girl's part as the answer without hesitation. The emperor was delighted to see the matching half of his couplet was so talent and harmonious that he authorized the young man's identity as Minister in the court and allowed him to pay a visit to his hometown first before holding the post. The young man met the girl happily at home and told her the emperor's couplet. They soon got married. For the wedding, the couple DOUBLED the Chinese character, HAPPY, together, on a red piece of paper and put it on the wall to express the happiness for the two events. And from then on, it has been taken on and became a social custom.

囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍囍

as darkness fall

i had a spilting headache after lunch and a colleague teleconferencing with full blast speaker phone blaring incoherent info certainly make it worst. i think i am going to fall sick. my throat was and still is sore - and the only compliment is my voice drop an octave lower = sexy? thank goodness i reached home in one pce as i was quite groggy when i drove. perhaps it was the paracetamols that i taken and later took some chinese tea... lethal potion?
pitch black
it started raining soon after i reached home. followed by some thunderstorms and of course lightning. sway sway, the electricity went off but it didnt trip. thanks to my neighbour AhChoo's husband, he checked and said the fius is ok. so i had to wait for the TNB. so for around 2 hours i sat in the dark with a lone candle.
cheated!!!
at last the tnb technician arrived. they said it was some input fault. then left. they came back in 15 minutes time but still no current to my house. then he said by pointing a device to somewhere in the fius box saying it is ok. then asked me to get contractor to check. i insisted it was ok as my neighbour checked it just now. later he said he can temporarily fix it then went out to get another technician assistance, b. b came in, pulled something and tuk! lights's on! however my happiness was short lived as the b asked me for rm10. according to him, they don come in to fix. i argued that he didnt fix anything from inside, only pulled something. he stood there not budging and grrrrrr i had to pay.. if only i was not alone. i would have insisted not paying him the "duit kopi" as he put it. another instance of UGLY MALAYSIAN.

aftermath, 龙船 & tassa

this morning, 5 mins into styling my hair, i was kind og regretting my cut (too much work, had to wake up 1/2 earlier..). however, the feelings took a turn once i reached office. everyone was surprised and admiring new look. some cant even recognised me until i greet them. of course there are some sour lemons too... dont hate me cos at last i have a great hair day? ^-^
go go go go
later in the evening, i had a jolly time learning to row in a dragon boat. here's some legend on how dragon boat races originated:
"The boat races during the Dragon Boat Festival are traditional customs to attempts to rescue the patriotic poet Chu Yuan. Chu Yuan drowned on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 277 B.C. Chinese citizens now throw bamboo leaves filled with cooked rice into the water. Therefore the fish could eat the rice rather than the hero poet. This later on turned into the custom of eating tzungtzu and rice dumplings."
the phone call
i had a pleasant surprise today. tassa, the hunk magnet called. it's been months since the last time i saw her. glad to know that she is doing well although "single life sucks". i would loved to agree with her (i didnt disagree either) but how would i know if it sucks if it is the only life i have had? er. so far.

it's done

at last... after 7-8 years my mane is cropped. it was quite an exciting time in kimarie. i think swen was more anxious and worry about the outcome of my decision to chop off my hair. i'm like "it's ok" - no risk no gain. i was glad that she was there too as she is familiar with the professional hairstylist - jess and was scrutinizing her rather closely. when i showed the picture of the hairstyle to jess, she hesitated and remarked that it might not suit me as my face is big - heehee. but as you all know me, once i got my mind set on something, come hail and storm i will still stick to it. one needs to be adventurous, r8? after telling jess all my hair "behaviours", how my fringe should be, yadda yadda yadda ... "your hair got loads of problem" - jess complained - "see what i can do". i can feel she is so stressed out. at the end of the 5 hours ordeal, jess was all smiles and i saw a twinkle in her eyes when she held the mirror for me to inspect her work of art. even swen who is normally quite a strict critic was nodding with approval :) (yes swen, you should get a cut too!). i was inmmensely satisfied that i didnt notice that the highlight didnt quite show. lucky for me, swen was there so we nagged her into giving me a discount. all in all it was a great day for a cut :)

A fine head of hair adds beauty to a good face, and terror to an ugly one. ~Lycurgus

i've been pondering for a very long time now... to shear my long mane short. it has been ages since the last time i had short hair. let see ... i think it is 1996 or 1997 the last time my hair was short.
<--- plan to get this hairstyle ... or this one??? not sure will turn out correctly???
suppose to go to kimarie @ ss2 with bridget but she had to go to klang to get her wedding date according to chinese almanac. wish her best of luck to get a great date @ eoy ... hee hee so i got nuff time to er ... lose some massive weight?
then was looking @ "a cut above". i was thinking why not visit the mv branch as winnie loo is there today. why not pay a little bit more for her (whao!) to style my hair. so waited and sweewen came online to get her opinion. but omfg! she told me her paid like rm600+ for cut(short), color and highlight! but she said it was very stylo milo. guess i'm not willing to part with that much of $$ and also i'm saving for my philippines' trip with my mom. she going to sg. wang. so instead of ss2 i think i will visit the sg wang kimarie's branch then.

age does matter, no?

few of my friends kept insisting that age doesnt matter. but i cant accept it. i mean how do you put your emotion and worries on a younger person. well they argued if he is mature enough why not. but how can a guy younger than you be more mature than youself? there are some findings stating that a man will be 2 years younger mentally compared to a woman. true?

he is so young ...
for the first time in my life i feel so old. i realised that my youthful years have left me aging... i have no more chance to do all those crazy things and blame it on "a paroxysm of juvenile passion"? the reason of this "suddenly i feel like an ancient" is that i found out that a guy that i have an eye on (teasing) is sooooo much younger than myself. grrrrr. i don want 2b a cradle snatcher so i guess i will leave him alone... hurumph.

row, row, row your boat

i didnt know that i would enjoy rowing so much. it was my first time doing the sculling and was a little unnerving when i hit the waters. need a lot of balancing. but it was exhilirating!
then when we were turning back to the shore, dush! we capsized! kar kar kar. it was super fun. nah no one drowned but the small guy infront of me seems to be kinda angry. but who in the rite mind would bring car keys and don secure his specs when going rowing. especially u r going into the boat with 3 other inexperience rowers! chi sing ar!
although i really enjoyed the "wet" experience, but the rowing session was kinda short. it ended when u just started. the carrying boat n cleaning up was actually more tired than the rowing. kar kar kar.
i can row!!
the next monday, i managed to hop on another boat with 3 others. this time there were 2 experienced rowers with phooiphooi n me. i think it was hari & cant remember the other guys name. with the detailed instruction from whey (thanks to her) b4 we launched the boat and also the help from the other 2 rowers - I CAN ROW .. without capsizing! it was FUN FUN FUN FUN.
cant wait till the next session.
pss .... hopefully next rowing session i will get to .... heehee...

trust, truth and being true

the foundation of relationships is trust. any kind of alliances need trust to survive. without it no bond will exist. well as far as i am concern, that is. however, what is trust based on and how much is enough? n can truth hurt ones trust? i have seen many cases that truth was bend so that trust could be gained. well truth hurts. yes. by being truthful gain trust? sometimes yes, most times no. although truth doesnt really build trust but being true in the other hand, will definitely boost ones trust.

i dont think i can either be truthful nor want to be truthful all the time but i am working very hard to be true to everyone i hold dear in my heart. hopefully in return i will regain my own trust.

犬夜叉

i used to scoff at anime but i've fallen for it. currently i am watching 犬夜叉inuyasha - the fuedal fairy tale... i love it so much as it contains not only the usual fighting story lines, but of romance, betrayal, friendship and also slapstick comedy ... which i find quite entertaining.
the blend colorful characters with each having their own individuality is really fun to watch. each charater has one or more episodes featuring them as the main cast which is interesting letting us peep into their strength/weakness/emotions. even kirara has its own moment - kawaii!
my fave character is sesshoumaru-sama (inuyasha's half bro - yea, like those in the dramas). he is hyper cool and is the strongest youkai alive. and super sexy voice... so aloof....
besides that the artwork is really beautiful and colorful. i love observing the culture, clothes, etc. and best of all, i can swear in japanese now!! :)

sweets n savouries

something new
for me, cny preparations has not really started until the cookies starts baking :) .. well this year i'm feeling a little lazy so decided to cut down the baking. the first n new stuff we (mom n i) made this year were the seaweed crunchies. happy to say it turned out great! even our adopted cats loved it!! (however bronte seems to be ignoring it ....). the cost was about rm6 a jar (the normal cny cookies plastic jar). in the market it's going for like rm18 per jar n the jar is smaller! imagine the $$ they earn!

same old favourites
next is mom's famous pineapple jam tart. mom hurt few of her fingers while scrapping the pineapples for the jam part. well making pineapple tarts is not only a lot of work but hazardous too. heehee. well u can buy the ready made pineapple jam (as we have done past 2 yrs) but it doesnt taste that nice. n too much sugar were added too!
mom made kueh bunga/ros the next day and it was a disaster. she blamed me for the recipe. luckily the next day it turn out good n yummy :)
then feeling up to the mood, i managed to make our signature choco butter cookies. decided not to make the more mundane butter cookies. it turn out ok although mom n i had some disagreement along the way. haha. typical.

tradition revived
mom will be preparing the stuff to make kuih bangkit today. so hopefully i will get to taste the melt in the mouth traditional cookie. i still remember mom n granny making it in kelantan long2 ago. i think more than 20 yrs i've not eaten our own homebaked kuih bangkit. wish us luck!

petaling street

[Sat 14 Jan 2006]
silly home branch
in this age of infomation, our country's beloved bank is still so rigid. after waiting for like 15 mins then i was informed that i had to go back to the branch i issued the FD to uplift it. this system is so silly!
cny is around the corner ....
mom n myself decided to make our annual cny shopping trip to petaling st. aka chee cheong kay. we cant seems to find the shop that we bought the cny deco last year... and it was a little let down as there werent as many shops selling those decos... either that or we were lost again :). we never seem to find our way around the shopping maze.
however i did find the "loong pheng" but it didnt tastes like the previous year's.
i guess we were a little early as there's not much cny stuff put on display. either that or the celebrations and sales toned down? due to financial issue?
food glorious food
aaa ... it's lunch time. so many choices but of course we end up in our fave shop which is opposite the hong leong wisma. both of us ate the super yummy pork noodles. it's my fave pork noodles stall :)

monday blues ..

blue blue my life is blue
it's monday - the hardest day of the week. probably sunday was before it?
anyway, today's monday is different. hee hee. no new tickets, and awaiting some approval meaning no work -yea!

philipines planning
yea!yea! finally i managed to finish my high level itineraries for my philippines 2006 trip. a little worried about the banaue trip. most ppl plan for mnl-banaue-mnl but i was hoping to save some $$ and time by doing a mnl-banaue-angeles. this makes sense as i'll departing from philippines via crk/clark.
a high level of my itineraries :
day1 : arrive in crk. transfer to mnl. check out all the tours i've booked. walk around. spend a nite here
day2 : early morning flight to bohol. hopefully can check in early to hotel. 3d2n here. do a bohol country side tour.
day3 : do snorkelling/swimming/lazing @ pangloa island ...
day4 : depart bohol to cebu via ferry. tour cebu city. shopping? 2d1n
day5 : more shopping. take afternoon flight back to manila. walk around mnl.
day6 : depart early to los banos for 3d2n. day trip to pagsanjan - shoot the rapid thingy.
day7 : day trip to hiddenvalley @ alaminos until evening.
day8 : depart early to lake taal or tagaytay. awaiting confirmation for transportation?? 2d1n there.
day9 : depart for mnl. leisure @ mnl. take nite (10pm) bus to banaue. which is a 9 hours journey.
day10: reach banaue early morning. 3d2n. as i am still awaiting some info from various tours. not sure on this arrangements .. which is a little worrying ...
day11 : banaue
day12 : depart banaue for angeles (if there is a bus going there). reach angeles evening. rest.
day13 : day trip to either subic or mt pinatubo??
day14 : lepak in angeles? actually i got one day buffer just in case ... not sure i really want to spend so much time in angeles as it seems to be a girly place. maybe i will spend another 2 days in mnl after the banaue trip to enjoy the local culture?
day15 : depart for crk either from angeles or mnl. depart for home :)

pretty confusing. not sure whether is too demanding. a little worried cos going with mom. for me i can just either push myself or forgo something n lepak. i think it would be the latter...

changes...

what a start

reached later than my usual @ work n no more parking! it's just 0905! luckily sor-poh, my car-parking saviour was around. everything in office seems like normal n support area had a nice 90% attendance. not much tickets... either company losing business or application ok. prefer d latter cos now iko is 80% business n 20% performance. which i think is not a bad idea considering d teams poor performance. anyway will not make much diff with my measley pay. or should i?
n hurrah! boss not in. i'm a free mouse today!!

phui - my "hang-fuk" great friend

it's confirmed. phui at last is free from her job. SHE QUIT HER JOB. for good that is. such a lucky chabo. i really can't imagine. phui of all ppl quiting her high-flyer career for her baby n family. if you told me like 5 years ago i will laugh my guts out. this friend of mine - a real gem n full of little delightful surprises. a small girl she is. she likes to think great things come in small packages. i really agree with you there phui. (...er your boobs too. such small entity can swell n gosh the amount of milk gushing out ... one could have mistaken you as a cow. ok ok i will mentioned this. yea. they were the first big changes i noticed in you - physically. hee hee. another joy of being a new mom). small she might be but a dynamite person she is. she is one of my friends that accepts me for what i am (or did. no i haven't murder anyone but contemplating rape - biological clock ticking... joking ya (hmm?). i did mentioned one of those friends, rite, so buddies you all 2 if you guys are reading this. thanks for loving me.

Great changes in her life too. known her since form2. a small gal sitting quietly infront of me. curi makan kuih kodok from faridah. where is she? always refraining from reporting to teacher that i didnt hand in my homework :). then turning into a carefree(in a good way) and independent gal. then morphing into a ceiling-breaking career lady. is now a dotting mom and loving wife. well you certainly achieve a lot in 30 years ... ok only 29 years and 6 days.

luxury liner to sampan to pelampung? as long as keep floating :)

when i was in hk visiting phui, mark n ellie, take opportunity to do hk. no i didnt go to disney. u guys should know me better. i not really into that unless whole gang there. visited this temple - sik sik wong tai sin. had my fortune told. seems like i had missed my luxuriues liner ... duh?!! she is the second fortuneteller telling me that i had a bf @ 24 n should get married @ 28!! like what!!?? i missed all that - dang! well she so persistently insisted me to move to north or west to meet my jodoh. guess i will be missing the next sampan as my prague (north n west) job deal fell apart again... don't worry ppl. me taking this lightly as i'm more interested in my career n ka-ching fortune at the moment (well got nothing else to worry about...) but the fortune teller was more interested in my love life - i wonder why? single or double or triple or whatever. as long as happy - life's great :)

2006 already...

2006 greetings
happy 2006!! hurrah ... hurrah?? another year to plough thru. 2nd day of 2006. nothing much changed except extra baggages, debts n yea! cleaner fridge n fans (hee hee mop them real clean) i started my 2006 by cleaning d house. not bad actually :) at least i did something other than watching happy n sappy korean drama (n stuffing myself with those chips). a real start actually! i just weighed n i lost like 2KG!! er ... i think, i hope. weighing machine sometimes er ... like to tease me :) decided not too make any resolution so i wont break any of them :)
korean drama n latest crush
i am so into this korean drama n d ost. hee hee found a site tat i can dl d whole album w/0 using p2p. back 2d k drama. following these :
- wonderful life which is light hearted but giggles inducing series
and
- my 19 yr old sis-in-law which is more serious, sometimes sappy (u know me - i sob @ every oppoturnity in movie. now u know how tissue companies survived).
g8t thing is both dramas star my current fave k actor - kim jae won.
i know i'm 2 old to get swoony over some cute hunk which is so much younger but hey! this is one of those ways to stay young @ heart :) at least now i have something to look forward. 2 hours date with kjw ... er w/d tv i mean :)