Brewing Now

Sony Nex3

2012-01-27T07:03:00.000-08:00

A long long time, in a galaxy far far away, I had a unit of the Sony Nex C3 to play around with. I was holding the unit on loan for someone, and while testing out the general functions, I got a pretty good feel of the camera overall.

First things first, the Sony Nex C3 is in a different league from normal point-and-shoots. It's classified under the Micro Four Thirds category putting it somewhere in the 'prosumer' category - in between the compacts & DSLRs. I've seen some other cameras from this category in action, with some great features, but it lacked the kind of power the Sony Nex C3 demonstrates in terms of image quality and shootability rate.

On first impression, it's chunky. Like, reeaaalllyy chunky. It's certainly not pocket-sized like any average point-and-shoot that I've been used to; the size of the lens itself is only slightly smaller than the lenses I use on my normal DSLR. The body of the camera itself may be made of plastic (unlike its newer sibling NEX 5 that has a magnesium alloy build), but it turned out to be surprisingly solid to tote around.

It's still got all the fancy features and filters that most compacts from Canon use - vignetting, soft focus, color editing, etc. With a camera like this, you'd find yourself using color-added features and filters more than the auto mode.

It's got a punchy feel for colors and fast focusing - chekkidout! I think the soft-skin effect was on in most of the pictures, and some vignetting here and there :)

Supermarket colors - never have fruits looked so appetizing

Dinner with Karen

At Palette Palette

Side note here, I was at Palette Palette late at night, and the place only had some candles and few lamps for lighting. Despite that, the Sony NEX C3 managed to get some bright, sharp shots despite the dim-lighting. No flash in any of the pics btw!

Random drive-by shooting in KL. Geddit, geddit!

Posterization Effect

Soft skin mode heehee :D

Punchy colors!

Pop Art

We were playing Taboo - Palette's a nice place to hang out btw!

High Contrast Mono

Retro Mode

Vignetting effect (Toy Camera)

Side note, in between changing of modes, one of the things that I didn't quite take to was the general interface of the camera. I found the transition of modes, and layout of the Menu and Options quite clumsy and not quite intuitive as I would like. However, I heard that they've improved on this in the newer NEX 5, if anybody knows if this is any good, let me know! :D

I should mention however, that Sony has made it easier for non-pros to control certain settings on some modes, like background defocus (basically bokeh la). Basically the camera will tell you to turn the dial this way for more focus in the background, and the other way for less (making it look more DSLR-like lots of bokeh, putting focus on the main subject of the pic). Same goes for a 'turn this way for shooting things that are moving' kinda function. From the terms used, to the icons used, it's almost like they programmed it for noobs who want to move on to a DSLR :D

Pro's? It's got great image quality, and it also has a pretty wide range of creative filters & features that are great fun to play around with.

It's got a flip screen as well, which I honestly didn't utilize all that much. This LCD flips out for waist-viewing & overhead angle shots, but I'm a girl. I prefer sideways-flipping LCDs for cam-whoring purposes :D

The build of the camera and the lenses are quite top-notch - the lens in particular has smooth zoom/focus rings and looks very smart with its metal finish. This series comes with a range of interchangeable lenses, including some prime lenses which have gotten rave reviews somewhere on the net.

There are a few things Sony has going for them, one being that not many other notable camera brands have great Micro Four Thirds cameras. Sony also has the best Sweep Panorama mode that I've ever had the opportunity to use (CANON are you listening?) which other brands should take note of.

Cons? It's fairly expensive, you could get some basic entry-level DSLRs for this kind of money, but most DSLRs won't come equipped with this much effects and filters. The kit lens is better than most though, I'm not as tempted to invest in lenses like other DSLRs.

The flash unit is also an attachment - cumbersome to carry around, but most of the time its preferable to shoot without the flash unit. If you find the need to have additional lighting, the flash unit is very portable (roughly the size of 2 large erasers?) but mafan to screw on.

My biggest irk is the UI of the camera, with most Sony models actually. The NEX 3 doesn't have a mode dial, and the navigation through the menu can be confusing. There's a lot of steps to change one little setting for a shot, and I found this a bit annoying especially when switching modes from HDR.

I wouldn't mind toting this around, it may not fit in my pocket, but it'd fit okay in a medium sized handbag that I usually carry anyway.

Overall, it's a very tempting camera to consider if you've got the moolah to spend. Should I should I should I? :D:D:D

Black is Back with Arthur’s Day 2011 - All new shizz

2011-09-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

Mean colleagues have been having a go at my choice of outfit colors - WELL JUST TO SHOW YOU, I DON'T ALWAYS WEAR ONLY BLACK/WHITE

Suriya's engagement - PURPLE baju kurung

...

Okay that's all I could find. But black is so flattering on most body types wtf like mine. Black is back, and IT NEVER EVEN WENT OUT.

Arthur's Day is happening this year on the 23rd Sept, around 6pm onwards (give or take a little more for Malaysian timing haha), and they're shifting this year's venue to Speed City KL; a change from the usual Sunway Lagoon crowd.

Loadsa cool acts this year, Taio Cruz included, along with some local acts like Rosevelt & Naked Breed. Hmmm should we make signs again?

If I get any extra tix, Imma be dragging Ash along with me, but who knows how that'll turn out - passes this year are not available for sale, so fingers crossed :D Been hearing Taio Cruz every morning on the radio, so I can sing along teehee

FUN FACT: Did you know that the actual color of a Guinness Draught is not Black as commonly believed, but is really RUBY RED!!! JENGJENGJENG!

kthxbai

A Thousand Words

2011-09-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

Somewhere, somehow, I'm in this picture.

MTV World Stage 2011 Up & Coming!

2011-07-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

oh my.

Sometimes it is hard to have all this good bands to play in KL but hehe now they are coming baybehhh!

Ok to learn more ways about scoring passes for MTV World Stage 2011 FEATURING 30 SECONDS TO MARS, you can check it out here:

www.channelx.com.my

Ok pfftt... I give you guys tips la ok how to ge 'em:

1. RELOAD!!! From 16th June to 15th July... yes as easy as reloading ok, you can go here to learn more laaahttp://xpax.com.my/promo_mtv.html

lalala.. got other ways too like

downloading these games from XPAX like the games below!

1. I WANT TO GAME MY WAY TO MTV WORLDSTAGE

Get the most exciting Games at 50% OFF selected Downloads from 24^th June 2011 until 13^th July 2011 and be eligible to win 2 FREE X-Zone passes to MTV Worldstage 2011!

To download, type & send to 22163

Charge: RM3.50/download

2. I WANT THE BEST OF BEAST!

Download their Call Me Tones from 24^th June until 13^th July& u might get some of their cool merchandises & MTV Worldstage passes!

To download, dial *118*# and press Call

Charge: RM18.00/3 months for each package

official website for MTV World Stage!!!http://www.worldstage.mtvasia.com

Nuffies Xmas 2010

2010-12-24T07:58:00.000-08:00

Christmas came early with the Nuffies Potluck:

As usual there was too much food, but it was one heck of a grand feast.

I love love love love love my LittlePod. And all its glorious free Photog Apps.

Jacqkie, Me, and photobomb Nick D. Also David's forehead.

After makans, we had the gift exchange & revealing of each person's Secret Santa. I hit the jackpot, because someone mixed up their Secret Santa and ended up getting me an extra present instead heehee :D

Me and my secret santee, Angeline!

Got LittlePod from the bosses :D

Phuket toenails. Mine's hidden by my festive Maroon stockings.

Jacqkie pointed out that I wore practically the same outfit as I did for last year's Secret Santa celebration in Magill, Adelaide. All I can say is my maroon stockings are uber comfy, smooth and have a festive feelings. Screw the Barney-ness :(

Jacqkie got Nick D an orange thong. wtf.

Tim & Tim! :D

Some people forgot to bring their present, and had to pay punishment hahah.

After all the exchanges, I gave out the little tokens I prepared for the Nuffies/Nomsters/Ban/Churps. I spent the whole day on those buggers, with a help from some elves hehe. Each popcorn bag had a muffin or cookies, and tied up with a note for each one of them.

It was a lot easier to write for some than for others, but I meant what I said in each note :) Some things are easier expressed in writing than it is to say face-to-face. Some notes took me longer to write, but it was all heartfelt shit in all 20++ notes.

Heartfelt notes of thanks. Promises to do better in times to come. Promises to stick together through good & bad. Telling them what you really see them for, and that appearances deceive most of the time. and the proverbs. But a lot of thanks & gratefulness.

For inspiring me to live with less fear.

For being a rock to lean on.

For being patient and guiding us all every step of the way.

For being a special buddy. Knew you'd like the drawing :P

Harder to write simply because some had not enough space, some had no words to put down, so I drew instead, and some because I didn't know them well enough yet. But the ones who I did, I enjoyed writing it, and I hope they enjoyed reading it too :)

No picture because I was rushing the packing and I forgot to snap pics when giving it out :( The cookies were kinda disastrous anyway :S I'll do better next time!

won 10 bucks

Our lovely SG host, Wen :) Thanks for being a great host!

MY CM. Heehee

Me & Firdy, the BRAIN

BossStewie playing Kinnect/Kienneticut whutevs. Thanks for hosting!

I've so much to say and so much more to show, but Xmas is here, and NY's is around the corner. It's going to be a big bang, especially with reflection time. But tomorrow is another day, another baking session.

CoffeeHyperModeOmg

2010-12-19T22:11:00.001-08:00

Everyone Connects - Parties Galore

2010-12-17T07:48:00.001-08:00

I was with some of the late-night colleagues the other night, the usual late-stayers. The roxsta, the kinkypinkperv, the wau, the fresh, and the crazy designer. Actually the Pinkperv is not always a late stayer, but that's what happens when you have to wait for me to go eat dinner >.< :D Sorry babe, I belanja-ed teh ais limau kan.

We got around to talking about our #5things we could change/acquire that would make us even happier than we already currently are. Some random answers that came out that night:

-A giant prank wtf.

-A recording album

-Playing football for a career.

The last one especially caught my attention, it was Ah Yau's dream. No big shocker there because he's almost always wearing a football jersey of

some kind (MU fan). The roxsta immediately shot back that he could still make it, but ah well, the Malaysian football scene is kinda potong steam. That and the fact that he's slightly past his prime in football-playing years (apparently they start off at 16 and peak in early 20s :S worse than models man) :(

'Tis both disheartening and heartwarming at the same time to have such passion for something, yet feeling like you're so far away from achieving your full potential. At the very least he still has this BURNING FIRE for football (I know this because of the Rooney question incident I asked long ago T_T Ah Yau, first time I hear you swear okay, scared me! ).

Should drag him out to the Battle of the Champions LIVE Viewing: MU vs. Chelsea, by Everyone Connects. It's a series of live viewing parties at various locations (list here) Woooo Pelita! It's at 10pm - 2am this coming Sunday (19th Dec), and can enjoy mamak food at mamak prices, easy on the wallet during festive season all :D *edit - ignore venue below*

Too bad he's not my secret santee, I would have brought him to go enjoy a MU match in full glory and comfort or something. Just an excuse to drink and chill and watch his fav match :) But come to think of it, it's the festive season, the SEASON OF GIVING. who needs a reason to give? :) It's just a matter of what to give *narrows eyes*

Hmm. Footie fan. Super difficult la, but as I was thinking of Everyone Connects (which I blogged about previously) I remembered The Stadium from Everyone Connects website hehehe. Did you know exclusive TM Man U stuff and other cool prizes when you sign up for TM's products or services? Anybody want to get unifi? :P I checked out their FB page too, lots of various prizes too, like movie giveaways, including Rapunzel (made me think of Audrey).

Aihhh Xmas. Here we come :)

TM Everyone Connects. Even me :)

2010-11-25T17:40:00.000-08:00

Attended the TM Everyone Connects event at The Curve over the weekend! Sial banyak events lately, but this was pretty entertaining in its own way. It was pretty much a happening Birthday Bash to celebrate Everyone Connects's 1st birthday

Plenty of new stuff to check out at the new site which is a whole new portal with all kinds of avatars. Kinda like Sims. Or 2nd life. I think. This whole campaign & event is about TM connecting people together, and connected people who collaborate make all kinds of impossibles possible.

The portal has all kinds of features in the website, which was reflected at the event itself. They had mock ups of the Open House, Sini Ma, Jamming Garage, EC Hall of Fame, and The Stadium. Damn cute la actually, it was like being in a dollhouse.

They also had this launch thing in the centre court with loadsa Orange & White balloons (TM Colors btw). I thought these were just ordinary balloons, but they had secret thingies inside.

NicGan said this is some popular Gamer chick. Erm. Called Summer Ash. All I know is that she has nice hair.

BUNKFACE. Awesome seeing them again after Shout Awards :D Remember Bunkface's 'Through My Window' campaign last year? Song still stuck in my head occasionally.

Balloons with secret thingies falling down. Everybody rushed for it because the balloons contained little pieces of paper with all kinds of prizes written on it - from T Shirts to CD Holders to the coveted Blackberry!

I didn't win anything btw :( People stuffed little pieces of paper into my hand but I changed my mind when I saw the long ass line of people waiting to redeem haha. But altogether it was a pretty nice way of ensuring the masses participated and got rewarded in little ways :)

My Magical Journey

2010-11-21T20:44:00.000-08:00

Look what popped up sometime ago on the NN site:

I didn't even know they were coming up with sequels T3T

Dawn Treader sounds frigging cool la. Imagine if you could walk on sunrays, I'd run away and never head go to tomorrow, so I'd always be stuck in today and not look back to the past.

Haih.

Sunday Night

2010-11-21T07:15:00.000-08:00

It's a heavy Sunday feeling. The anticipation of the week to come, and the game plan that starts tomorrow.

so 44 more minutes to let me feel like this.

I wish I knew what I was fighting for.

__________________________________

Life's a pressure cooker. I'm thinking of pulling the plug. :(

_________________________________

3rd edit in an hour.

I hate thinking. I hate using my brain :( I hate hating and being like this gargh

Curb your leash. - this will be an epic win of infinite proportions. Keep it in check.

Read in Reverse

2010-11-19T03:25:00.001-08:00

What is my dream?

I want my pitstops back. I want to take time out and sit at bus stops. It's alright if I miss a few buses here and there right?

I want to go back and enjoy that crazy spicy Szechuan Chilli fish. SM tendencies to hell with it, it's the most awesome chilli dish ever.

I want to pick up my camera again.

This was my year in reverse. Random shots from my BB

Got caught up in some local music thanks to Ash & Nic D

Hennessy. Erm. Party la.

Drew a kuda satu tanduk. My skillz be improving with each unicorn.

Fell in love with something completely hideous.

The Adelaide gang reunion.

Curled my hair. Doesn't look like this now. Dyed it with Liese Bubble color too

My birthday cake. :(

I miss you.

Duffy. Duffy is a flour ball. He is now a rock hard lethal weapon.

Yam tea with bubble things from Melbourne Ten Ren. Miss you, Francine!

Cooked some awesome kickass mussels when we went back to Adelaide for graduation.

Miss this gang too.

New steps, new people

Adelaide's bus stop. Sometimes I stop and wish I was back here, just getting of the 169 and heading to the post office to collect parcels and send off mail :(

When I first started working

When Ah Mai 'Pancakes' came back with Justin

Yong Tau Foo. I count my blessings for my colleagues :)

Just a spiteful photo to show that Karen Mayer stole my smiley.

October 2010

2010-11-17T22:32:00.000-08:00

What I've been up to:

Went shopping with Michelle and other people. Check out her hot hot dress which she didn't buy.

Shopped with Pinky. Why you cho cute pinksy.

Stalked Nikilesh who is now a bigshot boss.

Went to a party as a pussycat doll. Then made Jestina dress up in it too.

Ash dragged me out post-breakup to Rosevelt's gig at Laila's.

Ate frigging extreme cheesy pizza at Pizza Hut. 6 kinds of cheese. Read 6.

6 kindsa cheese on 1 pizza. With Pepperoni toppings!

Cheeeeeezus. Think the promo is still ongoing, you can try it out if you want. Pretty good value for money la.

That's Oct.

Looking forward to the rest of Nov and Dec and 2010. Good riddance!

Web 2.0 Emo

2010-11-17T00:11:00.000-08:00

My secrets of you pop up on my browser
How long are you going to block me off
Every little notification on your wall from her
I just want you to stop stop stop.

_______________________________________

I want to sink my teeth into you
trail your fingers all over my bruises
make you look for me in every street and avenue
are you going to come after me or will i ram you down.

Want

2010-11-15T07:58:00.000-08:00

I want

to catch a moment with you

stick post-its everywhere and leave and come back to read it again

watch sunsets over murky green waters

to learn the next 3 chords to 'Kiss Me'

sit on the fort and write

play iphone games

write a long bit on attraction and love and sex and everything in between

bake brownies & cheesecake

eat baked brownies & cheesecake

knock back a few beers and talk softly and laugh loudly

lean on somebody

kthxbai

Verbal Blagh

2010-11-12T09:27:00.000-08:00

This is not the end of everything.

There is a cut off point to everything.

There is life after this.

There are times to take a deep breath and seize control, and there are times to just curl up in a quiet little corner and let go of every single pent up drop of frustration and insanity and emote with a capital 'E'.

Think I need a holiday. Right about here I would post a picture to cryptically sum it all up, but I don't have a picture anyway.

The picture would have a beach. There would be a line drawn in the beach. There would be a pair of legs straddling that line. You wouldn't see the full face of said person straddling the line, but by the frown in the line of the mouth, you can tell she's overstepping her boundaries. Geddit?

Said straddler would also be wearing a t shirt with a bunny on it. Just for kicks.

And holding a pair of hi-top Chucks. Cause you don't wear shoes on the beach. Even if you did they would be slippers or Chucks. Not heels.

Next picture cue would be a totally trashed piece of shit technology with elvish written all over it. Said piece of shit technology would be sitting on a broken red table.

Yeah, a holiday sounds about right.

Tracing The Song of My Youth

2010-11-09T08:18:00.001-08:00

My all time favorite chick flick is She's All That, one of Freddie Prinz's earlier movies. It's even got a cameo by Sarah Michelle Gellar (who later became his wife, awww!) back in the hype of her Buffy days. It was from this movie that led me to this song, 'Kiss Me' sung by Sixpence None The Richer.

Fucking love this song. From the lyrics to the lilt to the guitar. It was because of this song that I made a half-hearted resolution to learn this song on the guitar. I dug out Daddy's guitar from his younger days, dusted it off and kidnapped it to my room. I learned the first 3 chords soon enough after Adelaide, but it took me a while to get used to the strumming. Mind you, it was all self-taught, with a few pointers from friends and some YouTube tutorials. I even bought a pick because Cindy told me it would help with the strumming (nail problem)

Then life happened, and the guitar kinda stood alone in the corner gathering new dust. Then it went away to Singapore.

Kinda miss it. What's inspiration and motivation without an outlet?

Movies

2010-11-07T06:28:00.000-08:00

List of movies I can think of that I always wanted to watch but never got around to it.

1. Mao's Last Dancer
2. Brokeback Mountain
3. Iron Man 2
4. Kick Ass
5. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
6. Valentine's Day
7. The Runaways
8. Shutter Island
9. Despicable Me
10. The Last Exorcism (I duno why I'm typing this)
11. That movie about the 40 virgins. or something. It has that cute guy. Shit I don't remember

*edit*

IT'S CALLED THE VIRGIN SUICIDES. starring Josh Hartnett. Totally forgot his name as well, but I remember the face.

12. Letters to Juliet
13. Hachiko
14. My Name is Khan
15. Kites. I still love you Hrithik Roshan.
16. Where the wild things are
17. Max. I think. shit, forgot title again. Plastimation movie.

*edit* Mary and Max. Very under the radar movie tho, don't think I'll ever get to watch it unless I learn to download stuff again.

18. The movie with Tom Hanks. And the band. Haaaiiihhh.

*edit* It's called That Thing You Do! Love love love the song.

19. Strictly Ballroom
20. Cave of the Golden Rose

okay technically, I've already watched nos 18-20, but it's been ages and I would love to rewatch them again. and again. and again.

Damn long list. I don't even know where to get half of the movies in this list.

Okay, I'll just watch Chicken Rice Wars. Bahhhh

More WIP for me

2010-11-07T03:01:00.000-08:00

I'm going to bury myself so deep in the ground,

You're going to have to find and dig me out.

It goes a little bit like this song,

A strum here, a touch and caress there,

It all explodes with a coming of the chorus

Is it the beginning or the end of all of us?

#cryptic ?

2010-11-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

You make me wanna lose control, get lost on the roads, get all sexed up with nowhere to go

heehee.

WIP

2010-11-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

Hello stranger in the mall
We've got a double glance going on
I feel, I knew I'd seen those eyes before
This tip tongued familiarity is leaving me all torn

Hey stranger, don't walk off too fast
I'm keeping up with you two steps front and back
Need your name, I'm going to take you to task
Keeping an eye on you, I dont want to lose track

I Wanna Be A Billionaire

2010-10-31T03:19:00.000-07:00

Woke up from a late afternoon nap with the following snippets of Technicolored dreams:

-If I had a billion bucks, I would book a travel trip around the world. And steal a piece of the Sydney Opera House's tiles.

-Bail myself out of jail for vandalising a UNESCO World Heritage Site wtf.

-Set up a cafe serving my Oreo Cheesecake

-Buy puppies

-Hire sky-writing services to write funny messages in the sky.

ZZZZZ.

Biggest Hennessy Artistry 2010 @Mines

2010-10-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

I'm damn happening la nowadays - if it's not work stuff, it's invites to parties & events I would have killed for back in my college days. But I'm slowly catching up on my partying phase (along with Michelle) and enjoying my youth while I can still fit into LBDs.

The month of October looks to be a good month, what with 101010 and all, people having weddings, loadsa good parties are coming our way. One of the biggest, baddest, and rocking parties about to rock is the upcoming HA - the biggest yet so far!

The lineup's full of big names in the party music scene -

Mizz Nina! Yea, sexyy is my name, doosh doosh doosh! I missed her at Arthur's Day, so I hope she'll perform her track at this bash :D

Remember this group from their Puma campaign, Da Mouth - think of them as Asian BEPs la. Super love the girl's hair, maybe can keep in mind for next year's hairdo :D

This HA party is gonna be happening on Oct 23, which is a Saturday so I can party guilt free without worrying of looking like a zombie at work wtf. Eh girls, can sleepover ah? It's at Mines, maybe can book hotel room after ;)

So much catching up to do, so little time. PARTY HEARTY!

Tiger Oktoberfest with Nuffies

2010-10-05T03:47:00.000-07:00

During a long work week, stress & tension just builds up as everything piles in, crisis explodes in your face and clients make you want to tear your hair out. Working in an unconventional company however, gives you a lot of unconventional ways to destress.

Like Nerf Gun wars.

We also make a point to go out on non-work events – movies, dim sum brunches, L4D sessions, simple chilling sessions where all Nuffies bond. It’s like my 2^nd family *heart*

This is some of us at the MACC Comedy show way back before Pinky went to Australia and came back again. And Michelle still had bangs. And Christy was the intern *waves to Christy*

And Nuffies celebrating Nuffnang’s birthday this year. This photo was taken sometime during the team games. As you can see, Jestina loves her alco. Actually almost all Nuffies love their alco, some more than others.

The past week was particularly long, running around every night scouting for materials for Saturday’s event, so I bugged the rest of the Nuffies to make Friday night a night out to remember. We headed out to the Oktoberfest launch at Souled Out to celebrate the turning of October & some German culture. :p

We got a big lost on the way, and ended up stuck in the jam headed towards Jinjang homaigod. By the time we got to Souled Out, we were already more stressed than to begin with and thirsty as hell. But this giant Oktoberfest barrel perked up our spirits as soon as we stepped foot in the grounds

The media tent was already pretty lively – people digging in to platters of sausages, chips, giant mugs of beer and a live folk band playing away.

We got tickets to buy food with. There was a long line at the food stalls, with all kinds of German food to go down with the beer.

Om Nom Nom Nom.

My 1 Litre Oktoberfest Mug. The promotions are running at various outlets for the Oktoberfest period, you can get yours too! RM50 for the 1litre mug + beer and you get to keep the mug :D

There was free flow beer, you just hand them your Oktoberfest mug to them, tell them which beer you want (Strongbow, Paulaner, Guinness, Tiger, Heineken) and they fill it up for you! It’s good to be Media! The Oktoberfest mug is meant to be for Tiger beer ;)

1 Litre is really quite massive. You can’t compare it here but…

Fresh

It’s bigger than our heads. I could barely lift mine with one hand.

Love my nights out with my colleagues *heart*

Some people had Oktoberfest hats too, Michelle ‘borrowed’ one from one of the other bloggers. I think she looks totally fetching decked out in Oktoberfest gear :D

Talk about being decked out in Oktoberfest gear ;) There were loads of hot chicks going around in cute pigtails. Too bad the guys didn’t join us till later nyehehehe.

Linda + Sara trying out Strongbow + Paulaner

Some of the other colleagues + SOs who came to chill after work as well!

After Effects plskTQ

Amma Goon got into the spirit of things as well.

Pretty soon the whole jingbang came along to enjoy the Oktoberfest food + drinks + music

There were lots of games + performances constantly going on, and they played it out on these projection screens in the corner. Good so that everyone else in the tent can see what’s going on outside because a lot of us had already parked our butts in the seats drinking away.

One of the things I remember clearly was the band playing ‘the chicken song’ and the DJ teaching people how to do some dance. Something about ‘left, now right, now up and down, now front, and back’ a series of movements. Jacqkie and I started moving halfway before realizing that one else was doing the dance T_T. So we went back to drinking.

Huai Bin came as VIP instead of Media nyehehe.

It was the first time I drank Paulaner (the above is Jacqkie’s mug btw), and it was a hot favorite with a lot at the table. Kinda light and wheat-y :D I love my Strongbow but Paulaner would be a nice change every now and then.

Jacqkie got herself a temporary art of Oktoberfest too :D It was super cool, lots of things to keep everybody entertained. If you wanted to play games, there were lots of games going on, like rolling barrels and three-legged races with mugs of beer. If you wanted to dig in to German food, there was a constant stream of chefs doling out sausages of all kinds and pretzels (awesome with that cheese dip). If you wanted to just chill out and drink (which was what we did mostly)there were plenty of seats to go around with lively music J

All in all, it was a great night out. Perfect company, perfect environment and awesome drinks to keep everyone on a high. :D There’s more Oktoberfest events coming up, and with Carlos from NN PH coming up, we’ll definitely be hitting them up again. The next one’s in Sid’s TTDI, Oct 7, can go? *big eyes* More promos everywhere, special mugs for each one. Imma collect em all!

http://oktoberfest.com.my

See you there wtf.

Are You Moist Enough?

2010-09-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

Cause I rock no matter what wtf.

Vaseline's new range of lotion is freaking cool, it's my office moisturizer now, the little yellow bottle is sitting next to me as I type this. The yellow one is Soya & Oat extracts, and smells totally lick-able hee.

The event's going to happen on the coming Saturday, Oct 2nd at LUNA BAR people! Friggin Luna Bar! Damn high class okay.

Are you coming! !stare

That means you !stare

Hari Hari Hitam Beri

2010-08-30T23:10:00.000-07:00

Pitfalls of the BB craze in the office:

BB Prayer Position during lunch time. Everybody BBs during lunch. Even if you're sitting right next to said person nyahahaha. I kinda miss our Word Mole sessions tho :( Most awesome vocabulary-developing game.

Another pitfall is that all BeriHitams look the same T_T. Quite unoriginal. The only way I can distinguish mine from the rest is by clicking the theme. Mine's a bright hot pink with hearts all over the place nyehehehe.

Just the other day I almost stole somebody else's phone unwittingly. I had placed my BB next to my colleague's and almost rushed off home because they all look exactly the same. Some of them have had their BBs pimped out by Eric Soong, known around the blogosphere as the BB man, but I already had to shell out $$ this month for pimping my car back to its original condition, I don't think I can dole out any more cash to pimp out unnecessary stuff for the rest of the year if I still wanna save up for my new EOS.

I thought of getting a casing of some sort, and tada! DiGi giving out socks - super cute ORIGINAL UNIQUE ones!

I mau pls kthxbai

Dedicated to my hamster:

Hi Auds!

2010-08-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

During a long day, I take occasional breaks every now and then; to go refill tea, bathroom breaks, PerezHilton, etc. I also make my rounds on the blogosphere and try to visit my favorites every day or so. Sometimes it's the gossip blogs, sometimes it's fashion & crafts blogs, and other times it's friend's blogs.

Tonight while on break, I clicked my way through to Itomaki's Tumblr, and found this:

:')

Miss you Auds! You inspire me to pick up my fat camera again lublub.

I miss Australia too haih.

Sad Dog :(

2010-08-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

As I was driving home, I turned in to a side road and my car's headlights caught the attention of a dog lying on the curbside of the road. The dog perked its head up as the light flashed by, but it just laid there, the rest of it unmoving. Instead of turning a right to head on home, I decided to take a left and pass by the dog again.

As I drove past the second time, I saw that the dog was a pale dirty yellow stray, often seen roaming the neighbourhood and generally causing a lot of ruckus from the pet dogs in the houses along the street.

PaleYellowDog perked its head up momentarily as the car neared, only to lie back down, chin on road and paw, next to another dog, black and white stray. The B&W was terribly still on its side..

:( :(

Welcome home

2010-08-14T00:07:00.000-07:00

Issa gonna be a good good night yay

Changing Masks

2010-08-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

Appearances can be deceiving.

Outside

Inside

Google Error

2010-08-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

10.45 p.m. -

The culprit -

11.01 p.m.

Munchy's Muzic

2010-07-26T00:19:00.000-07:00

Munchy's is having a 'Mimic the Muzic' contest, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Munchy's. If I had a drawer in the office, I would fill a giant bag with vanilla cream flavored Munchys mmmmmm. One day Imma throw a snack party in the opis nyamnyam!

The music is not really my style tho, beatboxing doesn't do it for me. Pffttt I could do better with some whistling :p It still counts right!

Why Smartphones can be Dumbphones

2010-05-24T07:13:00.000-07:00

People often call me mean. Fresh calls me mean when I hug Michelle instead of her. I'm called mean when I refuse to let other cars cut in my lane. I'm mean when I cock-stare little kids making an unnecessary amount of noise in the general public. Well, guess what! I'm not mean!! *injured look*

I'm just evil. Or at least I try to be sometimes.

But like many of my attempts to be ASSERTIVE and FIRM, it often backfires on me.

Case in point: Halloween 2009 @ Unit 11 & 13, Lorne Avenue, Magill.

Say Hi to Waffles

In case you couldn't tell from the horns and poke-y trident thing, I'm a devil. Devil with a really nice waist-accentuating (though you can't tell from this picture :( ) dress.

Say Hi to Audrey Chan Hep Burn

Those weird scribbles on my left hand are the 7 sins: Lust, Greed, Gluttony, Pride, Wrath and I dunno la, 2 more that I don't remember. Gettit, Devil = sins ? Hardly anybody got it :( I think perhaps because halfway through the night, it got warmer and warmer (guests very generously brought beer instead of food) and I think the eyeliner eventually smeared off T_T So I went around most of the night with a dirty arm T______T

This is my WATCHU LOOKING AT face, or as some would say Yong Sui :(

Please excuse my tulan face in the photo, this was the only photo I could find on Facebook with the right side of my face in view. Instead, please take note of the markings around my eye. Okay, because I wanted to add a little something to my cliche costume of devil horns & trident thing, so I decided to go a bit tribal-devil and add some weird ass markings on my face. I grabbed a random photo that I thought would be easy to draw, and got Audrey Itomaki to draw it on for me.

The rest of the night, people ignored my DEVIL HORNS, POKE-Y TRIDENT, and instead asked me "eh, you Mike Tyson ah?" FML .

How la, you tell me, how la to be evil.

But even then, I'm picking up hints everywhere around me on how to be more assertive, and strict *strict face* It doesn't help that I realize more strongly how unfair and tedious and unkind the world can really be :(

I can now understand why there are so many people who resent big huge MNCs and call them soulless corporations with no heart. I recently switched to a brand spanking new BB (corporate sial) but it was a bit of a spur of the moment thing. I wanted to maintain loyalty to my long-time telco (cheh loyalty my ass, I was actually just damn lazy to read and understand new phone plans :( ) and after some Q&A sessions with telco people during their roadshow, I got my BB packaged with a Data plan. It was then that all things mobile & wonderful were revealed to me *_*

To be honest, I succumbed to the Black Army in the office, but I have few regrets about it. The BBM features are a win no matter what, no other phones have that feature, and iPhone's Whats App is a serious lag and fail because FatFingers don't do well on touchscreen. But the big difference was that I suddenly became totally in touch with the constant communication that is the Internet. For instance, I don't think I've emailed/chatted with Rubee but I've tweeted @rubeeshareen from UberTwitter more times than I can count. I can word mole with Fresh at night even if she's in a dodgy Cybercafe in KL and I'm in my bedroom in the suburbs. I've BBM-ed Kareen to buy that classy black trench/blazer while she was shopping in London.

And I have absolutely no hesitation in downloading lots of useless junk like 1 level games, weather applications, animated themes for my phone because tadahhhh! my data plan is unlimited!

This in contrast to my old clunk of a Dopod, kononnya a smartphone, but good god, it had pretty much the functions as an old school monophonic Nokia phone. I didn't get a data plan for that phone because it was all too expensive and I alread found the Windows Mobile system to be near impossible to understand, let alone troubleshoot connection problems. I finally gave up when I asked a technician to help me connect to the internet via the Dopod and he gave me a blank look. As it turned out later, there was an error with either the phone's software or hardware, but I never bothered to send it for repairs because data plans were just too expensive! They charge something like Rm 0.01/Rm 0.10 per kb okay, so one website would be like frigging Rm3 or something like that.

So finally I got myself a decent phone + data plan. I rushed down to the mall to take advantage of the CNY promotion because it was going to end that day itself, settled all the bills then realized I would have to switch accounts because my dad was the principal holder. It took me 2 hours just to line up to switch accounts, which took 5 minutes -_____-All in all, I was at the mall dealing with all this for 5 hours -_________________________-""""". But I had a new phone at the end of it, and a pretty good deal for my data plan.

Then the next day I find out evil soulless corporation is still running their CNY promotion. So I rushed like mad yesterday for nothing.

Then the next week DiGi comes out with their BB & data plan and after calculating, in 2 years, DiGi's promotion would have come out to half of what I paid. If ooonnnlyyyy I had held out for 1 more week!

Now THAT's evil T_T

Yay for Facebook Viral Games

2010-05-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

"I like it on the floor."

Because I'm messy like that :P

My Dream in the Year of the Tiger

2010-02-03T17:28:00.000-08:00

My Dream for the Year of the Tiger:

If I can take part in the Tiger Run happening this Saturday, and WIN RM 8888 (damn cina right), I would splash it all on :

Blackbird

What the shots look like

I waaaaant :(

And then I'd like to upgrade my camera to one that can take HD videos *,_,* wtf look, new smiley.

Canon 50D

And a Sigma 18-200 lens so I wouldn't have to lug around so many lenses anymore. And I can get rid of my old kit lens.

Sigma 18-200mm

Blackbird = RM435 (from The Click Shop)

Canon 50D = RM 4000 (acc. to Photog Msia forum)

Sigma lens = RM 1500 (acc. to forums)

= RM 4935!!

= Still got Rm 3953 left!

Imma buy a pupppppyyyyyy :D to teman Luke la. It'll annoy the hell out of him heeeeee.

Oh Haiz is u

Puppy giving the 'Hao' (miang) look

Imma name the puppy 'Ong' wtfwtf. Ong Chan.

Color Me Corby

2010-01-10T07:48:00.000-08:00

Thinking back to the previous year, 2009 in Adelaide was one of the most colorful years of my life.

How could it not, when there are brightly colored yellow lemons and mandarin oranges dotting the crazy vivid green of trees in Spring everywhere you go?

And when the sun shines so bright, we have to wear sunglasses that set the autumn leaves on fire

And er.. a very colorful housemate.

And crazy people that add different hues to my everyday life :)

Thanks to the ever resourceful internet, I got some free color filters as a sample from some printing company :D

I think out of all the Corby colors, people would expect Pink to be my favorite. I say this because look what I got for my 21st birthday -___-" :D

Bubblepuff. I left it in Adelaide btw.

But that shade of pink is not quite my deal. Instead, I find the bright happy yellow more attractive. I was going through my pics and Carmen's Birthday was the one that had most happy Yellow memories :)

Polaroid Memories

Her Birthday card

omg even yellow food. damn jelak okay this pasta.

And if it wasn't yellow food, it was orange food. Another Corby color. Haha.

tandoori thing.

And the best thing was, Mas and I both happened to wear yellow. Banana twins for the day!

The Datin, my twin :D

Mas and I in Yellow; Rachel in Orange

She kept losing at our '1,2, som' game. As a result I kept "jentik-ing" her on her forehead heee.

Us with the Birthday Girl

How could you not, even the sky is a brilliant crazy Orange :)

1 down, 1 more coming up

2010-01-07T07:36:00.000-08:00

1 new year's resolution half resolved :D

1 more unstated one coming up. Imma get that haircut I always said I'd get when I land me a job. And I think it'll be office-friendly enough. So in approximately in 3 months ++ time, I'm gonna stash away my rubber bands for a while :D

Why 3 months time? Because while Birthday photos are retaken every year, convocation photos with parents last a lifetime. hah!

*excited*

Youwannsamades

2010-01-04T07:40:00.000-08:00

I do. I really really really do. I want this. I want everything that comes with it. Independence. Freedom. A new start. Career. Life.

I want this. With every fibre of my being. With every visualization my neurons can muster and channel into the universe.

Please God, let me get this.

2010

2010-01-01T22:34:00.000-08:00

New Year resolutions to think about:

Settle into my job - double whammy. I first have to get a job.

Be more patient

Run a marathon - part of my getting-healthier-and-more-active mindset!

Keep in touch with people that I love - with the Adelaide gang and my Assunta girls AND THE INDON scattered all over the world, it's always worth it to keep our chain mails and chat sessions going :)

Chin up chin up because I'm worth it!

150% in everything I do!

And as always : No Regrets.

Watch my language. On-the-road doesn't count.

Travel more!

Plan X

2009-12-19T08:42:00.000-08:00

Plan X is turning into a major failure.

Chand, please hurry up and come :(

3 little characters

2009-12-18T09:09:00.000-08:00

<

/

3

I Could Use Somebody

2009-12-17T07:30:00.000-08:00

I've been roaming around, I was looking down at all I see
Painted faces fill the places I can't reach
You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody

Someone like you and all you know and how you speak
Countless lovers under cover of the street
You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody
Someone like you

Off in the night while you live it up I'm off to sleep
Waging wars to shake the poet and the beat
I hope it's gonna make you notice
I hope it's gonna make you notice

Someone like me, someone like me
Someone like me, somebody

I'm ready now, I'm ready now

Kings of Leon - Use Somebody.

Cleaning & Sorting out 2009

2009-12-10T21:07:00.000-08:00

Lugged back some 50++ kg of stuff from Adelaide. Keeping in mind I was only in Adelaide for 1 year, and I arrived with 30 kg, that means I collected 20++ kg of junk and clothes and stuff in general in one year. Plus the things that are packed up in Unit 11, that makes me one heck of a hoarder.

My cupboard in my room back in KL is a 3 door slider, and two of them are all my stuff, since my sister lives in Singapore and doesn't need that much space in our room. However, slowly but surely, I've begun a takeover of the third door for my new Adelaide stuff. I'm going through and sorting through my stuff + clothes to find space for my new found belongings. Now that I think about it, I think my room in Adelaide was a wee bit bigger, and reflected a lot more about me than my KL room does. Odd.

Interesting cupboard statistics:

30 tank tops (ribbed, jersey, printed, etc)
5 Baby Milo shirts/ BAPE - I went through a monkey phase at one point in college.
10 Sec school club/house/camp t-shirts - + 1 left in Adelaide
5 College event shirts
8 pairs of leggings
6 Starbucks shirts
4 Kimono tops
10 pairs of jeans
15 coats/jackets/sweaters wtfwtf

How. How did I compile so much stuff for lil 'ol me.

My Farewell to Adelaide

2009-12-09T07:02:00.000-08:00

My final 12++ hours in Adelaide is turning out a lot sadder and chill-out-er than I expected. I guess after a few weeks of intense fun and activity, we've been running low on blinking red batteries. With the end of the semester came the beginning of Victor Harbor, biking, Two Stroke Johnny, and so much more. But all this would not have been the bright spots in my final days here if not for the company, thanks to the Adelaide boys and girls.

I don't think I've ever become so attached to a large group of friends in so short a time, so even more reason for me to dedicate a proper farewell to each of them. I'M SORRY GUYS I CAN'T DO IT IN PERSON, I MIGHT CRY WAN!

THE GIRLS

Audrey 'Odori' Chan
My first girl-friend here in Adelaide, thank God for a girl to keep me sane among the boys when we first arrived :) We've had a fantastic run, discovering the likes of Two Stroke Johnny, cupcake shops, and meeting 'interesting characters' in classes like Intro to International Relations. God, that was an exciting class.

I hope I've been as much fun to hang out with as you have been with me, and I wish you all the best in Singapore! I really will come down to visit you, tau! My 3rd home hahaha. And yes, confirm we go Klang makan Bak Kut Teh and seafood! Must jaga us when we're in your territory k.

Jacqkie 'Headhunter' RJJ
Muka Stim Beb. hahaha, my dearest Jacqkie, I'm so glad that we got the opportunity to RE-get to know each other. It's a bit sad to think that we've been in the same classes for years, but only got to really get to know each other only now, but oh well, there's years more to come :)

You've been great to hang out with, and I'm honored to be able to call someone so happy and wise my friend. Hope you'll have an awesome-possum holiday in Gold Coast with your family and will see you back in KL! I wish you all the best in whatever you aim to do, because I know you'll achieve it with flying colors!

Carmen 'Ah Hiam' Chiam
Oy Vey Armen! Thank you for bothering to get past my Yong Sui face and getting to know my cute cute self :p You and the rest la, I owe you guys a big Thank You and *huuuuug* for that. I never even realised my 'scary face' puts people off :( Will be SWEEETER. or try to la.

I know you and Cindy are peasinapod, but I think I 'kao pan' to call you my good friend la. Thanks for temaning me when I emo, and talking me through. Out of everybody, I think you're one of the more reserved ones la, so I really appreciate your input. Will miss you much, but aiya, you'll be in good hands. You and everybody else's efforts in teaching me to hug has paid off. I promise you'll get a huge lung-crushing hug when I see you again in March! Whatever your plans are for the future, I hope we'll keep in touch, because I wanna be a part of your future also :)

Cindy 'Qubic' Liew
Because where there's Carmen, there's Cindy, and vice versa haha. You two peasinapod inspire me to keep my friends around me closer because it's just so sweet to see you guys talk about growing old together and stroll down the beach eating ice cream. Hahaha.

I may not have always said it, but deep down, I do appreciate your straight-forwardness :) And yes, it's a sign of true friends la, happy sieh? and yes, I will TRRYYYY to be sweeter and not so 'aboche, apada abada pctpctpct'. You see, I learn from you :*

Hahahawtf.

As I said earlier, I'm happy we got to really know each other despite terrible first impressions. I'm going to hunt you down on a near-daily basis to go yumcha okay! Or maybe I just stand at my balcony then I wave wave at you la. Out of everybody, I think I enjoy being lame with you the most, hehehe. Here's to many more years of analytical insights!

Mas '-turaaaahhhh' Ismail
CottonCandy oh CottonCandy yang tumbang dalam laut HEHEHEHE. You know la I sanagat sayang and manja you, jangan pout ya. I count it as a blessing that you and Rubee moved in to Lorne Ave, out of all places :) I wish you all the happiness in the world, even though you probably won't need so much considering you're already a ray of sunshine :)

You still have one more sem to go, but when you're done we pergi celebrate kat Jakarta ya! Must invite properly tau, extend proper invitation, jemput kat airport dengan limo and driver ke :p One more sem kat Adelaide, jangan bagi orange buli you okay. Kalau ada orang kacau you, tell me, I go Mike Tyson them.

Rubee x 3
Rubz, you're the oldest, but you're so not lo. hahahah! in a good way la! I suka suka the way you laugh (and suddenly stop and look all shifty-eyed) to the way I LET YOU BULLY ME. You're another blessing in life la, right down to your geli geli ears :) One of the thing's I'll miss most about Lorne is standing below your window and going "Rubeeeee... nak Korean noodle...Rubeeeee..hungry la... RUBEEEEEEE *whinewhine*" <3

THE BOYS

Jeff 'Daddy Jifai Mr. Reliable' Goh
Like I said in my card, even though we tease and rib you a lot of the time, you're one of the most good-natured guys I have had the honor of knowing. Mr. Reliable is truly a title you deserve, and I owe you more than a few ones for all the things you've done for me, whether you may have realised it or not. Again, sorry for being quite the bitch to you, but I'll always try to make it up to you by sayang-ing you okay.

You've been a wonderful blessing that brought about more blessings to all our lives, and I know you'll continue to do the same for many other people in the future, wherever you may be :)

Justin 'Mr. Hyper' Khoo
Oiseh, my Lo Kong that introduced me to Magic Pen (still at level 25). What can I say la, I'm a sucker for guys that will cook for me and feed me and massage me :p Sorry la if I scared you earlier on in the year, but I AM REALLY ACTUALLY QUITE SHY WAN OKAY :( I'm not being action or sombong, you didn't remember my name kan, and you didn't talk to me directly so OF COURSE I shy la.

I hope you'll enjoy your Xmas present, and that it'll remind you of me every night as you GROW into whatever plan you decide is for you. You've certainly left footprints in my life :) Thank you for everything!

Sam 'Mr. Waffles' Lee
Lee Kei, you complete the gang la with your chinaman snaking skills. KIDDING! You add a dynamic to the group of boys that I think would be hard to replicate by anyone else. I will miss most your sense of humor (and waffles) and good nature. as with everybody else, i wish you all the best, study hard ya! but with that, can play hard also.

Ah Mai 'Siu Mai'
Ah Mai, even though you always like to make me cry, i will forgive you even though I still maintain you all only talk to Audrey earlier in the year wan. If you boys were a boyband, you'd be the baby boy cutey one. Like Nick Carter, Mark Feehily or er.. Lance Bass. Just, not gay. With your abundance of fart power, you're the anti-superhero of the group hehehe. You're among the sweetest guys I know, and I'm uber glad to have gotten to know you :)

Here's to Adelaide 2009. And many more to come.

Wah, cannot. Must maintain.

My Biggest Fears

2009-12-01T04:27:00.000-08:00

Escalators. Heights. Crawlies. Clowns.

But of all, I have discovered my greatest fear of all.

I LOATHE feeling lonely.

Taking it out on a Bean Bag

2009-10-20T09:47:00.000-07:00

I've been following service industry blogs since the blogging phenomenon exploded into a blogosphere of epic proportions. WaiterRant, BarmaidBlog, and even a NYC escort girl, that I eventually lost track of.

But it wasn't until I joined Starbucks that I did some searching and stumbled upon BaristaBrat. The longer I was at Starbucks, the more I noticed universal trends that happen in Starbucks outlets across the yuppie-filled regions of the world.

Crazy stories of people coming up with devious schemes to get free refills (thank God not many people know about this. I think it only applied to morning COW during my time), behind-the-bar stories, and irrational customers who think they're entitled to 5 star service because they are paying a premium price for coffee.

I think the rational of the 'I'm paying a high price for this coffee/beverage and your salary, so you should GET ME WHAT I WANT RIGHT NOW' deserves to be smooshed into their pretentious Venti COW which they end up sharing between 2 people or more because they're too cheap to buy 2 cups of coffee.

When Rachel asked me 'what was the worst experience I had in Starbucks' during Winter CFWM class, I thought of a few.

Difficulty getting drinks right during my first few days of training? Nah, Su was riding my ass, but I eventually picked it up after a couple of days and was quite the killer on the cold beverages, if I do say so myself.

The boredom in Pearl Point outlet? PP was a totally different environment alright, with more than its fair share of Cina-pek uncles who camp out at the lobby with his COW (at least he always bought one) for hours, and occasional nasty Middle Eastern tourists who, on the upside, spent loads of cash on everything.

But none beat that one crazy-busy afternoon in MV when I lashed out.

That one crazy-busy afternoon when I was stationed at the Point-Of-Sale (POS/register) and the afternoon crowd line was snaking out the cafe doors. An Indian middle-aged man with a beer belly and cross-eyes comes up to me. He's holding a Venti COW and points to one of the small round tables at the corner of the store, near the merchandise display racks.

"Miss, can you please clean my table?"

I pause momentarily while handling cash from a customer, marking cups, and shouting orders.
"Er, sure, of course sir. I'll just.." and gestured at the line of customers, but he's already walking away, and sits at the table.

I go back to juggling the swarm of customers, and I call out for a clean up for the man's table, but every other single barista is busy running their own post.

Less than a minute later, the man comes back up to me (me why me, there are 2 registers!) and is obviously miffed that I didn't attend to his beck and call immediately.

"Miss! My table! I-"

"Yes sir, I know, JUST A MINUTE" I stiff-smile at him while giving him a pop-eyed look as I'm juggling the register, orders, making fresh COW because we've just run out, and running the food area. The bar is now running full steam, orders being flung out left right centre, and the espresso machines going full throttle.Again I call out for the clean up, because the new #1 rule for the POS post is that YOU DON'T LEAVE YOUR STATION. EVER. New fangled station rulings from the HQ.

The last straw hits when he comes back up and the moment I make eye contact with him, he lets loose.

"MISS! I've asked you to clean my table already! Why you think you can ignore me is it?! I work for The Sun, you know! I know your boss, I'm going to write a complaint then you get fired, and then you don't blame me! What is this, I paid for my coffee already! I'm going to write about this, who do you think you are?!"

I am stunned at this outburst and when he pulls out his press pass I literally feel my jaw go slack. Not from awe that this man works at a newspaper, but because his abuse of the power of the press was just amazingly... stupid. At this point I am left speechless because I have also never personally encountered an outburst from such an irrational and obnoxious person.

Somewhere in between his tirade, I can hear Vishnu, who was manning the espresso machine next to me, step in and defend me.

"Sir. Please try to understand, we're running a really busy bar here-"
"NO, you wait! I'm going to write a complaint letter! You clean my table!"

"FIne." My eyes popping out and gritting my teeth, I abandon my POS and grab the nearest blue cloth for cleaning tables. I go to his table. I wipe the little puddle of water off his table. And I walk off without looking at him again.

As soon as the line trickled down, I headed straight to the Back of House and grabbed the nearest 5 pound bean bag and deal a couple hard punches to it, before running back out to the register. Come to think of it I don't think I was the only barista who dealt out abuse to the coffee beans when you can't really direct that frustration to the customer in the first place.

ahhhh anger management tools of the trade :)

Ole Olay 2

2009-10-19T00:03:00.000-07:00

WHEE! All those hours of obsessively playing the Olay Find Fairness games finally paid off! Not only did I win a weekly + monthly prize from Olay, but Nuffnang had their own competition with prizes from Olay too! So altogether, I have loads of fairness products waiting for collection :)

I got some Olay fairness cream, and a set of the Olay fairness products as the weekly and monthly prize winner. A wee bit disappointing considering I was aiming for the iPhone, but oh well! Nuffnang also awarded me half a year’s supply of Olay’s fairness products and RM200! Oh sweet moolah.

This all comes at good timing. Summer’s coming up here in Aussie, and the sun will be blazing hot. By the time I fly back to KL in Dec I’ll probably be 10x tanner than I am now. All those fairness products will come in handy then, heehee! Can’t wait to get my hands on the prizes, it’s been ages since I’ve tried new beauty products!

‘Tis a time for celebration people! The ending of the semester, hours of obsessive clicking at the Olay website finally paying off, and my first advertorial for Nuffnang ;)

Oct the 13th

2009-10-13T07:18:00.000-07:00

Desperation. Excitement. Hair standing on end. Ah, the beginning of everything.

Happy Oct 13th to you :)

15Malaysia

2009-09-14T00:33:00.000-07:00

15Malaysia is a collection of 15 short film stories by Malaysian storytellers. Here are some of my favorites

Potong Saga

Hilarious tale of a Budak Cina trying to qualify for an Islamic Bank account. Question: Can non-Muslims apply ah??

Meter

This one is my absolute favorite. It features Khairy J. (of UMNO Youth yes that one.) as a taxi driver going on about his grassroots opinion. Watch out for special cameos from Jason Lo, Matthew George (Taylors alum!) and this hilarious dude Baki Zainal. Oh and Amber Chia too.

Chocolate

A Yasmin Ahmad directed film, it rings strongly of Sepet, what with a budak cina and Sharifah Amani. Pity this was only a 5 minute film with no real ending at all, it made me want to watch more of the story. If anything, this reminded me to hunt for a copy of Muallaf and Talentime. haih.

The Tree

This documentary takes on a slightly different spin from the other movies by featuring Spiritual Leader of PAS, Nik Aziz, as he talks about the Islamic ways of doing business. A slightly more serious and spiritual sort of documentary.

Two more days to go, two more videos to be released by 15Malaysia. Videos are free for download, and it's certainly worth a visit to the website to check out the other videos.

Spring Flicks

2009-09-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

Movies to watch for in Spring 2009.

The Soloist.

Released in the earlier part of the year in the States, but movies take their time coming Down Under.

Robert Downey Jr. plays a Lopez, a journalist who stumbles upon, and strikes a friendship with Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, a classical music prodigy who plays a 2-stringed violin on the streets. It's
an emotionally soaring drama about the redemptive power of music and lost dreams'. After watching the trailer in the cinema, I went home and downloaded the soundtrack. I am super amazed that I actually remembered the title of this song. *Sigh* Years of music lessons didn't go completely to waste I suppose.

In case you were as impressed with the soundtrack as I was, the song being played out throughout the later part of the trailer is Bach's Cello Suite No.1

Makes me want to play the cello with a concentrated look too :p

The September Issue

'Fashion is a religion. This is the bible'

This is an amazing documentary about what goes into The September Issue of Vogue. Anybody who cares about Vogue knows that its September Issue is legendary in size and content. This documentary offers an insider view on the inner workings and fashion politics that go into hundreds of glossy pages.

The girls and I went to see this on the recommendation of our Comm & Org lecturer who thought we would find the power playing and influence of Anna Wintour interesting. No doubt it was an intimate look at the editor-in-chief of America's Vogue magazine and her team of fashionistas (Andre was a very minor character but so divo la - his collection of LV branded bags and racket cover amazed me for a while). Lots of behind the scenes as issue close day rolls around, and I think another main character in the documentary was Vogue's stylist, Grace. It's amazing to think of the contrast between Anna Wintour and her more creative free spirited Creative Director. I particularly loved how Grace called the Photoshop-ing people to cancel the retouching on the bulging tummy of a male "model" in one of their shots, even though it was Anna Wintour that called the shot. Heehee.

This is probably something a lot of guys wouldn't be caught dead going to, unless they're intimately interested high fashion and luxury brands. Or maybe if they liked Devil Wears Prada.

But fashionista freaks like Lydia should definitely definitely watch it. :)

Merdeka - Freedom in Name only?

2009-08-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

Video of the group of Muslims in a march protesting against the relocation of a Hindu temple to their area in Shah Alam.

Marching with a severed cow's head is beyond stupid. It's degrading, it's insulting, and just plain painful to watch this kind of thing happen when you just want to be idealistic that yes, change can happen; people can get along.

Mahai, someone should go throw pork at them. See how they like it. It's people like this that should be in detention under the ISA. Inciting racial tension and whatnot. Come on gov, here's a case that half the country would support you throwing them and locking them up with no trial.

It's the 31st of August today. Merdeka.

Freedom from colonialization.

Still waiting for freedom from prejudice. Only then will I not scoff at the idea of 1Malaysia.

Im Addicted to Olay Game

2009-08-26T07:11:00.000-07:00

Oh My God.

New distraction galore :D

Assignments piling up, Sydney trip to research and plan, and presents to buy and post.

And here I sit staring at the laptop screen scrabbling for a high score.

Olay is having this contest right now where you play 6 mini-games in 'Paris' and collect points. The person with the highest score every week/month wins prizes! To be honest, I find that I play the game for the fun of the game itself rather than for the prizes. It's that fun :D

My favourite-est game :)

This is my favourite game, the crossword puzzle! It's located in the 'restaurant' in Paris (the whole game is set in Paris). You just have to look for the hidden words and collect the vitamins (see the vitamin on the waiter's tray?) The more vitamins you collect, the fairer you'll be (ahahha see the fairness bar below), and the higher your score will be.

Supermarket pickings

This is the one in the supermarket, it's super easy to play. Actually all the games are pretty easy to play, maybe that's why it's so addictive. I keep on thinking "it's so easy, I can get higher score!" *Monica mode* You click on the items on the supermarket sheves according to what the little cloud pops up. The only complaint I have about this game is that out of the few hundred times I've played it, the vitamins don't show up at all! :( So even if I have a score of 1000, my vitamin score is only like 300++ which gives me a combined score of 1300 only :( I can usually score at least 1600 at this one okaaayyyy.

They also have other games, especially if you like games like bejewelled. The other games like the 'Metro' & 'Public Park' (which I suck at btw) are a bit boring, but the 'Shopping Mall' one is quite okay la. I cheat at that one a bit, if I get short words like 'Bright', I start a new game again cause I don't want to waste my time for short words hehehehe.

Dress up!

That's my avatar thing! You get to select the face and hair when you register. As you go around Paris you click on the Parisians and they will give you tips on how to look pretty and fair. These tips are sometimes quite funny, like wear short skirt with heels if you want to look tall but wear something underneath to protect yourself ahahahawtf. Sometimes they are also very true like make sure you have nice brows! Okay la, they don't exactly say that, but that's the gist of it.

Once in a while they will give you items like a skirt, or pair of shoes too! Then you can dress up your avatar and change clothes :D Before this my character was dressed like Snow White. REALLYYYY!

These are the prizes, I don't really care for an iPhone, but if I'm lucky enough to win that (which I doubt) I'd just sell it off ahahaha. I'd much rather have the camera though ;D Poor Daddy broke the battery lid off my old camera so he can't use that one. If I win this one he can have it, I love my Ixus just fine :)

There's also a voucher on the website if you want to buy their fairness product. It's got all this vitamin stuff in it, and everytime I click on the Parisians, they tell me stuff like you can put tomatoes on your skin cause it's got vitamins and stuff but Olay products will do as well. wtfwtf ahahah tomato mask.

my badass score

MY SCORE MY SCORE. beat that!

I tag:
Lydia cause I think she needs a new distraction away from Edward Cullen
Audrey cause I think she'd like the games.
Linda cause I know she's gonna be damn bored
Carmen & Cindy & Jacqkie cause they have no TV so this will save them from boredom :D

*edit* My high score just went up HOHOHOHOHO

On A Cold Blustering Windy Night..

2009-08-24T03:44:00.001-07:00

It is a freakishly noisy night in quiet little Magill.

Winds are a'blusterin' and a'blowin'
The neighbour's zinc roof is being tossed around
Blinds in the house are flapping about in a ghostly manner
The sounds of speeding winds rushing through the trees and its hovering branches.

It's at times like this that I'm thankful I don't live on the top floor right underneath the roof. When I'm cooped up in my warm room with a cup of Pu Erh tea, courtesy of Audrey's mom :)

And in another hour or so, I shall brave the icy cold in the passage between the bathroom and my room, passing The Mess that is known as Jay's room. I shall retrieve my long lost stapler because without it, my papers are scattered in a haphazard unreadable manner. I shall then have my papers stapled and scattered in a haphazard readable manner. Then and only then, will I reward myself with a long water-restriction-breaking shower.

Ahhh. The glory of a hot hot shower on a freakishly noisy, blustery, windy night in quiet little Magill.

Codeword

2009-08-24T03:44:00.000-07:00

Hello you.

YES YOU!

make me happy :)

codeword : pinky.

Home Cooked Foods

2009-08-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

Summary of my cooking that requires more than marinating and chucking it in an oven.

First up: Wantons!

Mish mash of the vegetable stuff.

Chop chop chop of chicken mince and bits of prawns

Mix everything together with seasonings and sesame oil, while waiting for the wanton skins to defrost

Start wrapping the wantons! It took a few tries before I got them right, too big and they split/won't cook evenly. too small and.. well.. too small for me!

Deep fry them and eat. I prefer to cook them in a chicken broth now though, deep frying uses too much oil.

I make herbal chicken soup too! After googling around, I decided to hunt for a claypot because using metal pots apparently compromise the herbal taste.

My old school claypot! The spout on the left is for pouring out the soup.

dried yam things. Rhizo-something-or-other

Dried red dates

Wolfberries. or Kuo Chi

My mom said to put the 'long white flake thing' -_- So I randomly took this off the shelf

Boil boil boil with the chicken

My aunt saw this picture and laughed. I forgot to take the skin off the chicken, resulting in all the fats leeching off into the soup -_-" trial and error!

And of course, when I wake up past noon and I just want to eat something quick....

Mama Shrimp Tom Yum

Awesome awesome stuff. Can always trust products of Thailand when it comes to Tom Yum. Especially love the noodle texture :D

I just tried this yesterday too:

Not much difference, except it's a bigger pack of noodles and creamier taste. MMMMMMM.

I gotta Feeling! Pub Crawl

2009-08-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

Er. In reverse.

Waiting for the 106 back

Gaggle of girls minus JoBro

Doing the Tequila

I ignored the tequila and went for my Strongbow. Bluekkkk. If I said no, means NO! mmm. Cider-y.

hey look, my waist :) waiting for the 106 to get to the crawl

Ready for the best night out

Unexpectedly the best night out ever :)

The rocking by Two Strokes Johnny, the Mumbai Guy <3, Jeffrey's fail pick ups, and thank God for flats.

I think The Elephant was the best pub of all, minus the stalking by Williard-look-alike.

Wheeee!

Adelaide - Pre vs. Post

2009-06-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to Jacqkie and anyone else who is going to Australia and are prepared to spend shitloads of money on keeping in touch with loved ones via the magic of modern technology.

In Australia, there is the option of getting yourself a postpaid number + free* phone OR getting a prepaid number.

POSTPAID
- Free phone/Super cheap phone with a postpaid number
This comes in various packages. A postpaid package (Or Cap as it's called) basically works like you get a set amount of credit (depending on how expensive your package is) then you use it till you're done. Then any spending after that will be charged at normal rates. See below. The more expensive packages will usually have much nicer phones, like a Blackberry, Nokia E-series phone, etc. The cheaper ones have decent models for the average user.

-Contract minimum 2 years
You're tied to the phone plan for 2 years! If you try to get out of the contract, you'll have to pay some leftover costs.

-Pay only at the end of your billing period
Postpaid la. You pay later. Your package comes with a certain number of minutes and credit. Once you use that up, then any extras will be charged at a lower price. E.g. $29 package = $150 credit. Once that's used up, your next SMS/Call will be charged according to their normal rates.
E.g. $29 package = $150 credit. + 20 SMS to local operators ($5)
You pay $29 + $5 = $34.

-Free Bonus Pack
You get to choose some additional subscriptions/pack things. I dunno, things like free gossip and updates/ TV god knows la. Lots of categories to choose from like News, Entertainment, Sports, etc.

The postpaid option is always the best option as long as you're going to be here for a minimum of 2 years. You get a free phone (which you can bring back with you and unlock in KL for a low fee :p), and you don't have to worry about the hassle of recharging your credit before it expires. Plus, the charges are cheaper :)

PREPAID
-Macam Hotlink la. You pay, then you use. You buy the package and that comes with a certain amount of credit. Use use use use. Finish. Recharge. Use use use use.

-Recharge
The credit will expire in 30 days unless you top up, and roll it all together. This is unlike Postpaid, where you start fresh with new credit every billing cycle, and cannot campur aduk credit from the previous month. There are various ways to recharge. You can buy a print out coupon from 3 stores, and convenience stores, or you can just buy it online (you will need a debit card for the online option). The coupon has a number and easy step-by-step recharge instructions. If you're a normal prepaid user in Malaysia, this will be easy peasy.

-Phone
You can either use your phone from Malaysia (only if it's not tied to a network and is compatible with the Bandwith regulation) or buy a new one here. Mind you, buying a phone is not like in KL. Buying a phone here costs an extra unlocking fee ( I think it's about $200. Don't take my word for it). Plus, the options here suck. Really. There's no Nokia store, if you want to buy a phone, you'll have to go to a store that belongs to a Network Operator, like a 3 store, or Optus store. Very limited range of models too.

-Price
I don't know if there's a price for a postpaid SIM & phone, but the Prepaid SIM card currently costs 5 bucks. It's just a little bit of plastic after all. Plus, you get extra $10 credit if you activate it online! Wheee free money :p

-Mobile Internet Data
You get a certain amount of free Mobile Internet, depending on the package you buy. I don't use this on my block-of-crap-PDA-that doesn't do wireless. Can't comment. Could come in handy when you need to go online randomly I suppose. We utilised this a lot on Jay's phone during RFP quizzes. Who won the Chess tournament. A lot of names of weird people we don't care about. The Russian Prime Minister. AW GAW.

-International Calls
There is a cap on International calls, up to $100 for each recharge. E.g. $29 package = $150 credit. Out of that $150, you can only use up to $100 on international calls. This does not apply to Postpaid.

Prepaid is an option you'll have to choose when you're not going to be in Australia for very long since you can't opt for the contract. However, the free phone from Postpaid honestly doesn't matter, especially if you happen to like your current phone very much. It's just a great extra perk to have. It's the same value for money as the Postpaid options, just that when you finish your credit, you'll have to top up again. The prices for postpaid calls are slightly cheaper too. But since I'm rarely a caller and more of a texter (SMS cost the same, for both Postpaid and Prepaid) that doesn't matter to me.

PACKAGES
-Credit packages
Packages here refer to the type of credit you buy. Most telco operators here in Australia offer a certain number of free minutes to talk to your friends on the same telco network. Pay attention, because it can get a little confusing here.

Example :

$29 package = $150 credit + $ 160 Free minutes to 3 friends = $310 value

So when I buy a $29 recharge, I get $150 dollars worth of credit to be used on calls and SMSs. I also get $160 worth of free calls to other people who use the same telco network (3). So all in all, I SPEND $29 dollars for a package that is VALUED at $310. There are other packages too, like $49, $69 and $99 for Prepaid, and goes all the way up to $199 for Postpaid connections. The more you pay, the more worth and value you get. I usually go for a $49 package for 2 months consecutively then 3rd month is a $29 recharge because I just have that much left over.

Don't forget that for Prepaid connections, the leftover credit is snowballed to your next recharge as long as you recharge before it expires.

-Planet 3 Add ons *only applicable to 3 mobile network*

There are several other bonuses you can purchase in addition to your phone plan. There are a few, like Unlimited Email for $5, International Talk etc. International Talk is basically a $5/10 add on package that you buy and it renews itself each month. With these packages you have 100 minutes of talk time to various international locations.

The only difference between the $5 and $10 package is that the $10 package has a few more locations (?) and more 'call-to-mobile-phone' locations. For this you'd need to look at the brochure and see which package is suitable for you as some locations that are the 'extras' in the $10 package are locations you won't call.

E.g. $5 package = Malaysia (landline only), Korea, UK, etc.
$10 package = Malaysia (landline & mobile phone), Korea, UK etc.

This planet 3 add on also requires a different recharge coupon. It does not take money out from your phone credit, and the credit for a Planet 3 add on has an expiry period of 180 days. So you basically buy a $10 coupon that will last you 6 months (180 days) and every month, your 100 minutes will renew itself! So what you really get is $10 = 600 minutes! (spread out over 6 months)

And if you finish that 100 minutes before your credit cycle ends, you can keep on calling, and be charged normal international rates (see the 3 website for this) and your International Talk gives you a 25% discount.

E.g. Credit cycle/ expiry period - 13 May - 13 June.
If you finish your 100 minutes of International Talk time by the 12th June or earlier, you will have to wait till after 13 June to get a new batch of 100 minutes. While waiting for your new batch, you can of course keep making international calls, but it will be a bit more pricey la.

PLUS
This International Talk package gives you 4000 minutes of Skype! Problem is, most mobile phones can't handle Skype. And no, it does not work on the computer. The 4000 minutes are stuck on your SIM Prepaid. So if you have a PDA that has a working Skype application, even better. You can make lots of Skype to Skype calls on the go. Three is selling a Skype phone, but no idea how good it is. I think it's retailing for about <$200 (Aussie). I also saw one in Digital Mall, no idea how much the price is, or if it's even compatible with the 3 SIM.

NEXT : Telco Operators in Australia & Internet!

Moonlight

2009-06-14T06:46:00.001-07:00

Dedicated to my Moonlight.

Let's go climb some mountains :)

OMG Tak Tahan - Bagan Hailam

2009-06-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

*EDIT*

OMG I just remembered one more thing to add.

Petaling Jaya - Yong Tau Foo. There's this place that serves awesome Yong Tau Foo and Fish Head Curry :D:D:D mmmmmmmm. It's near that food court near McDs in State! mmmm Fish Head Curryyyyyyy!

_______

Lydia commented on my previous post, saying she would take me to another seafood restaurant, Bagan Hailam. Curious (and lacking things to do), I went to look at some reviews, see if they had any specialties I should keep an eye out for.

However, what I realised was that Bagan Hailam is an area, like Subang. So there are (I think) a few contenders, but no matter.

LYDIA KWAN WAI CHING! This is what we must eat!

1. Nestum Mantis Shrimp

2. Fried Glass Noodles/ Fried Bihun with tiny clams. Like the one we had in Teluk Gong!

3. Bamboo Lala! Lots of it! Hell, I'm going to tapau too. Heeeeee

4. Crab DUH! At least 2 types! Salted Egg Yolk and..hmmm.. Black Pepper? Sweet & Spicy? not overly fussed really :p

5. Butter Prawns! The ones with little crunchy shreds of erm.. is it fried butter? egg? No idea, but damn good :D

6. Steamed Fish. Garoupa or anything, I don't care as long as it's STEAMED! Fish in Australia is not my taste :(:( It's all grilled or fried. I miss a simple Chinese-style steamed pomfret with soy sauce.

7. If we go for vege, I vote for Kailan! I especially like the version of Kailan some restaurants serve with the leaves shredded and deep fried, so they're super crunchy and oily. Sounds dodgy but ooooohhhh yes.

*dies*

Makan!

2009-05-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

List of Places to eat at & People to eat with.

1. Bak Kut Teh - Piggy Innards. In that shop by the roadside along Old Klang Road. With PY and Ash. We've always wanted to go eat at that place, but tak jadi for dinners :p

2. Sushi Zanmai - Mmm salmon sashimi and cold udon.. Gardens. With V

3. Lala Chong - CRAB. With the family. If not, a whole gang of whoevers.

4. LCS Mamak - Maggi Goreng! and the Indomee! With the college peeps. I wonder if the lady that sells the Indomee still remembers my usual order - Indomee satu, tak nak bawang goreng. HEE

5. A1 Taman Desa- Fish Head Noodles. Very popular branch of the Cheras Fish Head Noodles. Pretty costly at RM6.50 a bowl, RM8.00 for a big bowl, but totally worth the money. Yvonne, PY and Ash, we're gonna attack it! :D

6. Dim Sum - at this specific shop near PY's apartments. Totally forgot the name, but pretty popular, and they have huge siu mai's and har gao's! Bigger than a 50cent coin, and they have a whole prawn in the har gao *slurp* As usual, with my breakfast/brunch kakis; PY & Ash

7. Old Klang Road- Char Kuey Teow. The best CKT I ever had used to be in that Kuchai Entreprenurial Park, but it's gone already :( PY introduced me to the one along Old Klang Road which is cheap, and they put lots of see hum which I love, but taste doesn't compare. *sigh* Breakfast gang - awaaayyy!

8. Petaling Street - Sweet Potato Balls. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I went hunting for them with V before I left, but frightful weather and storms prevented me from exploring Chinatown :( I used to have them whenever I went to Chinatown; the deep fried sweet potato balls. Ahhh childhood nostalgia..

9. OUG - Pan mee. Staple weekend tapau when we're too busy to cook lunch. Heehee. I love it with the chilli, super spicy and mouth-watering. I think I'll bring the breakfast gang with me on this one, I don't think they've tried it before.

10. OUG - Curry mee. The best ever curry mee is in OUG, this green shop opposite BP with air conditioned rooms. I tapau-ed a lot when I had to handle my own lunch HEHEHEHE. Curry mai fun, ka see hum :)

11. Taman Desa - Jimmy's Cafe. Officially Cafe Libre, but affectionately called Jimmy's Cafe because co-manager Jimmy, who was my barista buddy back in MV, is the sole reason why we went to the cafe for the first time anyway. Popular for the Nasi Minyak and Lamb Curry. THE SHIZZ! Probably gonna meet the Starbucks Buddies there :)

12. Klang - Coconut Flower. Or whatever it's called! We went there for Lydia's 20th Birthday, and she said she'd take me to Klang again to eat seafood. YAAAAAYYYY

13. OUG - Pork Noodles! Actually I don't really care where I eat the pork noodles. As long as it's the soup version. :D

14. Tenji - BUFFET! I love love love Tenji. I love love love buffet. Cheaper than Jogoya, and it has the freeflow Haagen Daaz and Mochi and Coconuts :) MMMMMM!

15. OUG - Nasi Lemak. I usually get tapau from the Malay couple who run the Nasi Lemak stall in the morning market in OUG. It ends up being my Sunday brunch because they're quite generous with the sotong sambal/chicken curry, whichever one my mom decides to get me. However, when I'm eating Nasi Lemak anywhere else, I like to add the see hum sambal hehehehe. I would love love love to go back to SS15 where Queen Khoo introduced me to the Nasi Lemak stall outside that mamak bistro. MMMMM!

16. Brem Park - Prawn Mee. Ha mien with bihun! PY took me to the place near her apartments, which is this tiny roadside stall next to a playground and some shops. It was terrible looking for parking because it was a neighbourhood with sempit roads, but it was damn nice. So much better than the tapau-s I get :(

AGGHH!! Countdown begins!

Melbourne in Autumn

2009-05-27T08:05:00.001-07:00

Long overdue photopost of Melbourne. Thanks to Joyce for putting me up and driving me around exploring. Fran too! Miss you guys :) I'll be coming back! TIAN FUUUUU!

Gelatissimo

Giant Chess Board. People really do play with it. Game in progress above.

Plenty of Horse-drawn Carriages in the city area.

Late night train ride

Fringe needs a trim. On the way to St. Kilda's.

Things are so much easier when you travel in a personal set of wheels.

Windy blustery day at the beachside cafe. Honeycomb cafe or summat like that.

Birthday Champagne :)

There's a river right beside all those high-rise buildings. Just like the Klang River. hahahaha.

St. Kilda's beach. Or at least the dodgy end.

Eating weird ice-cream. Forgot the shop's name. It had Barack Obama flavored ice cream tho.

Thanks Calvin & Melissa!

Melbourne City.

Buskers everywhere. This one was pretty cool - he plays oldies on request on an old school organ.

Joyce :)

Fran and Joyce at steamboat buffet

Rachel & Fran

Melbourne punya Chinatown. I think RADelaide's is bigger tho.

Melbourne City again. Banyak Asians everywhere.

Melbourne Central

Tian Fu's Szechuan Chilli Fish!!! Rated Triple Chilli and 3 thumbs up!

This place sells the cutest cupcakes.

Fran. I will never understand Melbourne public transportation.

The Eye of Melbourne. It doesn't work. The heatwave killed it.

Gabby and Joyce :)

Matt, Joyce & Fran making cupcakes.

Gabby being manja.

Walking to the city

Melbourne's State Library opposite Melbourne Central

erm. Big Clock at St. Kilda's Beach Flea Market.

Artwork at the flea market. My fav is the set of 3 with the eyes.

We stumbled upon a funfair

Desserts at St. Kilda Road

Phillip *wave*

Me. T'was a cold windy sunset.

Hahahah.wtf.

Audrey *wave*

Phillip eating his sinful sinful custard.

Some railway station near Melbourne's Klang River

I still don't see the big deal about KK. So ex!

Iron & Wine

2009-05-17T05:14:00.000-07:00

Oh forgive me, for I have doubted you.

I was a quick wet boy
diving too deep for coins
All of your street light eyes
wide on my plastic toys

Then when the cops closed the fair
I cut my long baby hair
Stole me a dog-eared map
and called for you everywhere

Have I found you
Flightless bird,
jealous, weeping or lost you

-Iron & Wine - Flightless Bird, American Mouth-

all hail.

The Birthday Loot

2009-05-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

From Chandni. The tiara broke a bit on the way to me tho.
I RULE YOU MINIONS! *waves sceptre*

BubblePuff. From the RAdelaide gang. hahaha you fail! but thanks :)

From Chandni :)

I luffs it babe! :);) BEST EVER CREAM YO!

And I just got Linda's card too :) THaaaaaankssss Queen Khoo :p

Glenelg

2009-04-17T06:06:00.000-07:00

Yes those are camels

:D

Ocean

Powder-like sand

Pet show

Shetland Pony

Mosely Square

Sunset with Fish & Chips

The Fail 21st Surprise :D

2009-04-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

Swanky dinner on Thursday night "just because". I didn't think much of it for the week what with having been preoccupied with assignments and what not. So it wasn't until after 4p.m. Thursday when I walked out from H building, IIR tutorial that the clues came barging in nyehehehe.

SURPRISE FAIL BECAUSE:

1. Students are too cheap to suddenly dress up and go to a relatively swanky place to eat for no reason at all. Well, we are, anyway :p
2. Jay had to "go to the city first to do something and will meet us there". Could always have waited for us in the city, why so rush to go to the restaurant alone? hahaha cake laaaa
3. EVERYBODY was there
4. I gave my camera to Audrey to be camerawoman for the night and Sherry turned to me and said something along the lines of "yeah because you're the main star tonight". I don't think she realized she said it tho hahaha

but the major one that gave it away was when I came out of the unit to walk to the bus stop and Thomas gave me his camera to put in my bag.

5. Thomas brought his camera.

hahahaha special event duuuhhhhh

But it was a nice surprise nonetheless :) Especially when I saw the cake. hahahah omgwtf hahaha

There was a My Little Pony (Pastel pink with bubblegum pink hair) perched in the middle of the cake. It was wearing a crown as well :D

So thanks for the cake, gloves and BubblePuff :) oh and the sirloin and seafood platter too.

Mmmmm.. salt and pepper squid...

Dodgy pillow

2009-04-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

Is it possible for a dodgy overly-firm pillow to put too much pressure on the cheekbone of a side sleeper and the accumulation of frequent pressure to wreck the nerve of the upper jaw molars so that every time the side sleeper takes a step, the 'opposite reaction' force from the ground makes the nerve hurt? T_T

I didn't think so either.

BUT IT'S TRUE T_T

stupid pillow.

SALONPLAS

2009-03-23T06:54:00.000-07:00

oh SALONPLAS how I miss you :(

There is something dodgy about my pillow which is sometimes just firm enough, but sometimes hard as a brick, and combined with the toe-curling cold temperatures at night sometimes, makes me curl up like a well done prawn.

mmmmmm

prawns

....

yeah. okay. SO NOW SAKIT TULANG HOI!! My back huuuurrttsss and my shoulderrsssss tooooo :( *whine*

I need salonplas or I'll die!

okay, or maybe I should just start practising better posture. *grunt*

Because I'm Cheap!

2009-03-22T05:08:00.000-07:00

... and that's why many posts from now on will not have photos, because uploading photos will eat my PAY-BY-KB internet T_T. I'll have to leech off Hungry Jack's internet or the uni's paid-for-wireless which is pretty cheap.

...

...

...

Dunno what to type.

OKAY come let me tell you about my house/townhouse/apartment! (Dedicated to Linda)

First of all, there's the confusion over the term for my..er.. unit. On the website, it's called Magill Campus Apartments, but that's not the mailing address. The mailing address is the (unit number/building number, St. add), so it's sort of like a small collection of apartments. But then there is a sign outside that says townhouses for rent. But no matter, the important thing is I have a pretty spacious UNIT and a proper address so you all may send me lovely letters or packages :D

My neighbours are Kien and his flock of 3 girls living in one of the 3 bedroom, Double storey units; Thomas in a 2 bedroom, double storey similar to mine, and Audrey who just moved into the top floor 2 bedroom, single storey unit. Note that half of the occupants in our block are Malaysians and from Taylors, hahahaha. We're slowly but surely, taking over the place. Oh, and we make the most noise too. Especially during monopoly nights.

"I'll trade you my green for your red."

"I'll give you my Northumberland AND 500 bucks!"

"COVENTRY FOR YOUR FLEET!! AND 700 BUCKS!"

"50 % discount on rent!!!"

"#%)!!#*$&#@!(!!!!! you!! NO! Don't sell to him!!"

"(#)%@# you!! COUNT PROPERLY LA! 12 ONLY!"

Ahem, anyway, I have the master bedroom, which is only slightly smaller than my old room in KL by about 1m square ft. In it, I have a single bed, a bedside table, a long desk & pinboard, and a cupboard. It was pretty dusty, but I suppose it's normal considering the previous tenants were not very clean; the living room floor was sticky and I backed away hastily when I opened the kitchen cabinets; it was all grimy and cobwebs at each corner :S

I shall attempt to describe each item in my room since there are no photos!

Desk Top (hahahha not the computer ahhahaha, the top level of my desk hahahha wtf):
1. Box from Ikea (set of 6: called Komplement or summat like that) with Junk, box of veet sticking out and a Lift plastic bottle, and a brochure for the Garden of Unearthly Delights, which is this funfair/carnival that I went for, quite chun!
2. Clock
3.Starbucks Tree Ornament in the shape of a Sbux To Go cup :)
4. Ikea box with make up
5. Ikea box with miscellaneous things
6. The stuffed NZ lamb from Tun
7. Ikea mini wire basket filled with rocks (from Glenelg and Henley Beach la, I don't love junk THAT much) and push pins
8. File Organizers from Ikea with er...files. and Course Outlines
9. Ikea book ends.
10. Camera Bag
11. The Advertiser blow up hands

Pin Board:
1. New Zealand tag with KYLIE on it. Souvenir from Tun when he went to NZ :D
2. Post its
3. Lots of push pins
4. An info card for Arabian Mocha Sanani, hahahha I dunno how it got it, but PUT YO HANDS IN THE AIR AND WAVE EM LIKE YOU JUS DONT CAAAREEE SBUX LOVERS!
5. A card for free viewing of Confessions of a Shopaholic. I love Isla Fisher's gingham BF shirt and tights outfight. I hate the pink dress, pink furred boots and pink gloves outfit. I love Isla Fisher's hair.
6. A map of Adelaide City that is obscured by my Ikea file organizers
7. Very outdated list of THINGS TO DO. It's asking me to enrol -___-"
8. Hair bands from Diva. I hand them on a push pin :D
9. Voucher for recharge for phone.

Desk bottom:
1. Ikea box with toiletries
2. Daiso foldable box with FOOD, lots of cookies, vitamins, organic tea bags, biscuits, and muesli bars.
3. Daiso foldable box with envelopes and contacts and Sbux Bearista
4. Daiso foldable box (YES I LOVE DAISO) with post its, external hard drive and some cables
5. Starbucks Mug and coaster
6. Ikea wire basket with pens stolen from UniLife
7. Container from The Reject Shop filled with White Chocolate and Macadamia nuts cookies from Foodlands
8. Ikea rattan basket with spectacles, comb, and foldable Chinese fan. ( I have a set of these rattan baskets, but I only use like 3 because I got carried away at Ikea, so I gave the remaining 2 to Audrey)

Sliding table:
1. Starbucks Diary
2. Organizer
3. UniLife diary ( Yeah, I have tons of these things, but free okay wtf)
4. Pouch which the sis got for me from her company trip to Thailand. I use it as a stationary case since I forgot to bring mine
5. Big colorful notebook with internal folders! I friggin love this notebook. I luufff it I lufff it.

and blu-tacked to my wall is a planner of sorts from the Australian Defence Force (hahahhaha) and I stuck in my class schedule in its side like an envelope. So resourceful :p

Oh, and fyi, I only have classes 3 days a week, and I effectively have a 4 day weekend :Dnyaaaaahhahhahaha

okay. Lights out.

The Sister

2009-03-01T06:55:00.001-08:00

A few of you would have heard by now; glad to say she's stable, upbeat and stubborn as anything :) Being brought up in the tech age however, we've become totally dependable on the internet and gadgets to keep us up to date, informed, and entertained.

Hence, she's gotten her internet connection at the hospital, and you can read all about her daily hospital life involving blood pull, hospital food, and her kicking lymphoma in the butt at Bohemia Bunny.

You can also read Jian's (her bf) blog (ho ho ho!) at Lymphoma as he tells what it's like to worry, care for, and entertain a Lymphoma patient.

Your support is much appreciated!

The Fringe Festival

2009-03-01T05:20:00.001-08:00

The Fringe Festival was extremely crowded, and full of hype, like Bukit Bintang on New Years Eve. Unlike KL however, it was civilised, nobody jostled and pushed each other, there were no stinky body smells, and nobody tried to grope anybody :D

This is the angle you get when you're a shortfart in a land of caucasians :(

The Aborigines started off the parade

Belly Dancers

HO HO HO!

Yeah, you liiiike :p

Parts of it were weird.

The shorter ones are Punch and Judy.

The bubble man!

There were a lot of acts in the roughly 30-40 minutes parade; an alice in wonderland theme, a group of roller skaters, a lot of odd colorful mobiles, a couple of music blasting trucks, etc.

Soon after that, we ventured off looking for some Cold Rock ice cream (yummy!!). Very cool gimmick of you selecting your flavors and mix-ins and they'll mash it up on a slab of cold marble :D

All said and done though, I wouldn't venture out on a night when a festival is being launched ever again, not here anyway. I don't feel safe enough, not with bottles being tossed off car parks 7/8 storeys above, witnessing fights, screams and cursings by young 'uns my age or probably younger while waiting for the bus or seeing mounted police scaring them off. HEEHEEEHEEE.

Goodnight ya'll.

Communication Breakdown!

2009-03-01T04:55:00.000-08:00

It came as a complete surprise and a devastating blow to all our whimsical plans, but that's life for you.

There was never a question of me going overseas to study, given that the parents was pushing for me to go get some 'exposure'. Even then, everytime people asked me why I opted to finish my final year overseas for the same degree at a heftier price tag, I would feebly reason that I would be able to have a wider range of subjects to choose from.

Once I received my study plan from UniSA, I saw a whole list of areas that I could choose; from Psychology, to Puppetry, to Web Design, etc.

It was not to be!

After arrival, and many confused discussions, our program director laid it out for us.

Being given credits for exemption from our diploma meant subjects were ticked off a list of prerequisites for the degree. Degree = Professional major, sub-major, minor. Our professional major, CMM, was already chosen for us, because we'd already done some subjects in the CMM area. That's fine, it was advertised that Taylor's was giving the CMM degree anyway.

Sub-major, however, was journalism. I know, I was like wtf... I've only ever done Reporting for Print. However, all 6 of our sub-majors were already exempted, subjects that I've never even heard of, so no going back there.

The big shticker was the minor. We'd only been given 1 exemption for the minor, which was, wait for it.... PUBLIC RELATIONS wtfwtf. Sudah la got a diploma in it.. But because we'd already had an exemption, we were being pushed to take that as our minor.

Our study plan gave us 2 core subjects, 3 minors and an elective! tadaaaaa... elective being subjects that you can take for fun because heck, you're paying for it! You can take web design, puppetry, languages, literature, etc.

So the option is this : Take the given study plan, have one fun subject that you can choose, and take PR as your minor

OR

Turn that PR exemption into your elective, have no fun subjects, start all your minors again (meaning 4 subjects in the same area) and do Winter school T_T

So anyway, now you're looking at an aspiring Undergraduate of the B.A. Comm and Media management, with a minor in International Studies.

SIGH
Taylors oh Taylors, why didn't you warn me. I'd have come here sooner :(

Timing

2009-02-28T20:30:00.000-08:00

Wah what a bad timing to go overseas..

Nevertheless! Fingers crossed and praying!

Should and Should Nots!

2009-02-25T06:31:00.000-08:00

THINGS I REGRET NOT BRINGING WITH ME

1. Sunblock. Lots of it.

2. Caps. Okay, admittedly, I'd rather buy a straw hat here, it's prettier :)

3. My lotions and creams. The only brand I'm comfortably familiar with here is The Body Shop. I left tons of my skin stuff at home! *wail* No matter, it's an excuse to go splurge on moisturisers, cleansers, exfoliants, toners, body scrubs, etc.......

4. Photos. :( Dammit! Have to print them out now..

5. Folders. Taken for granted! I had tons back home, and now it's hard to find a cheap one like the one back home. Adelaide sells the type with really thin transparent pages for like 3 bucks T_T

6. Stationary. Totally packed them up and totally forgot to put them in my suitcase. ARGH!

7. Notebooks. See #6. I only have my 2 organizers with me. On the upside, it gave me an excuse to buy a lecture pad with really cute cover and internal pockets for handouts :D

8. The unicorn.

9. Thick blanket. Screw you, summer! You're STILL freezing at night!

10. A bolster. They don't sell bolsters here! No such thing! only this huge motha BODY PILLOW wtf. The thing's bigger than me!

11. The thing I regret most. Not buying my Nokia before I left. Kononnya want to save 100 ringgit buying it here because the RRp on Nokia.com.au is cheaper, but OMG Aussies have no sense of manic in-style trend like KL-ites have. They don't bother trading phones every 2 years to keep up with technology, HECK THEY DON'T SELL PHONES HERE. I mean they do, just not by the brand. The service providers only have a few select phones from each brand, and even then to buy one which is probably a pretty old model, would cost way a lot, PLUS it's tied to the service provider. SIGH.

THINGS I REGRET BRINGING WITH ME

1. One too many going out dresses. They weren't kidding, they really are casual here. For nightlife anyway. So much so that I stared ogling at 2 girls clearly dressed for a night out to paint the town red. In comparison to many of the Adelaide-ians, they looked a bit hooker-ish. The more dressy dresses are the type girls buy from blogshops to go jalan jalan at the mall :D

2. Irma. Blue fleece throw which I use as a blanket back home (along with another blanket, yes I use 2 blankets BECAUSE I LIKE THE FEELING OF FLEECE OKAY CANNOT AH) is super pathetic in chilly windy nights. Plus the fleecy feeling is gone :(

3. My herbal soups. BECAUSE THEY WERE CONFISCATED! by Customs T_T I could have used the space to bring more shoes.. and more clothes..

Pre Departure Anxieties

2009-01-20T22:51:00.000-08:00

After waiting several weeks for the final IPD result to be released, I rushed to get a bank draft the next day and submit all the documents to Ms. Sophia back at the college so she could courier it off to the Australian counterparts. Then after waiting a few days after, I received the Confirmation of Enrolment letter. FINALLY! I mean, hello, we're already halfway through the first month of the new year, ideally, I should have had everything settled before the fireworks went off on New Years, but *pshhh* RED TAPE INEFFICIENCY.

Anyway, after getting my CoE, I applied for the online visa that night, and I went for my medical checkup the next day. I went to go for the manual checkup instead of the online even though it would take longer to process because the parentals decided 'aiyah online no difference' wtfwtf. Whatever laaa, lesson #1 don't try arguing with the parents less than 12 hours before checkup.

Even before applying for my visa I already had jitters about the medical checkup. I had no idea what constituted a medical checkup : urine analysis, blood test, x ray, PHYSICAL CHECKUP?

I sent off a string of paranoid SMSes to Francine, who is in her 2nd year at Monash Uni, frantically asking her if I would have to strip or if they would 'poke around down there' hahahahah wtfwtf. Plus, I had indecent mosquito bites.. ahem.. Francine assured me there would be no stripping of any kind, so that eased me off a bit.

So the next day I reach the clinic at CapSquare bright and early only to find out that my passport photos are invalid because, and I quote, 'tak boleh tunjuk gigi, dik'. And so I rushed off at 9 a.m. to find a photo shop down in the city that doesn't open for business till at least 10 a.m. -_-" One setback after another..

Later on when I'm finally back at the clinic, with complete valid photos in hand, wait. And wait. And wait.

*dies*

Peeing in a little bottle/jar was initially more difficult than I expected. I think a container with a wider mouth would have made things easier, considering females can't aim as well into tiny orifices. And honestly, they don't require all that much pee. I was forced to drink bottles of water since the night before, in order to be adequately 'prepared' the next morning, and the bottle ain't that big ya'll.

and FYI, they DO make you strip! Breast examination all, so off with the top, bra and jeans. The doctor and I just ignored the elephant in the room *omg blush* But it was all over with in a matter of 10 minutes, and before I knew it, I was back in the waiting room.

It wasn't until I was at the bazaar with Cheryne and Francine later that weekend that I mentioned what a coincidence that the doctor had the same last name as one of our friends, that Cheryne broke the news to me. Yeah, turns out Dharrini's mom poked me around T_T

bump :(

2008-08-08T07:47:00.000-07:00

Aduan ke JPJ Online

Kenderaan saya diletak di tempat parking di depan KK Hypermart. Apabila saya pulang dari kedai berdekatan, ternampak seluruh cermin sisi kiri saya telah terputus akibat dilanggar kereta, dan hanya wayar sahaja yang tinggal menghubungkan cermin. Pekerja KK Hypermart yang nampak peristiwa ini berlaku memberi saya nombor kereta yang melanggar kereta saya. Pemilik kereta yang melanggar sungguh tidak beradab kerana tidak cuba langsung untuk meninggalkan nombor untuk dihubungi, and sebaliknya lari selepas melanggar kereta.

ADM 574!!!!

Curses upon you!

Polyvore Fun

2008-07-05T08:39:00.000-07:00

Fight or Flight

2008-06-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

Baby.

How many of us call our respective SOs by that name?

How many of us feel warm and fuzzy when you're on the receiving end of such affection?

How many of us feel offended enough to have a hint of sneer at the corner of your mouth when random strangers on Facebook Poker call you that?

But better still, what do I do?

People tell you not to respond to bullies because all they want is attention, and by giving it to them, you're feeding their habit.

But you can't just let it go! Not like that anyway. RandomFacebookPokerStranger has no redeeming qualities anyway; he looks fat, he looks old and he's overly friendly.

-Who you calling baby little boy
-little boy
-i'm not little boy in any situation

*psh please, i've heard this before. I'm surrounded by egoistical college boys obsessed with sizes*

-oh right sorry
-little girl it is then

*log off*

I say push that bully back into the ground and tattletale to the teacher.

Lomo Love

2008-06-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

Fisheye 35

CyberSampler

Holga 35 - Black and White

diana - cross processed

Look, lots of lomo love flowing like lots of lonely drops of lust into my little lomoed heart :*

Freshly brewed, please

2008-05-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

Uncensored Obsessions has been a window to my life since the middle of my Form 5 days in Assunta. Reading back, I didn't even know I had a blog prior to it, so emotionally speaking, it was my first web log. I cringe slightly every once in a while at my writing style, but I'm keeping the archives intact for now, because some of the posts remind me of how I used to be, and how far I've come.

I stopped posting there about a year ago, mainly because I became employed with a part-time job that took up a lot of my free time, and frankly speaking, I was running out of steam and spirit to blog mundane details and emo thoughts of life.

So why pick it up again? And why at a new blog? Lord knows. Thoughts. Friends. Ego. Hee hee. Brewing Now will pick up where U.O. left off, with a 10 month gap in between. So many things have changed and evolved, I felt it deserved a new beginning.

No self-respecting 20 year old will use a notebook that 7 year olds use.

Bad analogy.

Here's a toast wishing a longer lifespan to Brewing Now. Welcome!