fun time with nature

Actually I wanted to upload these pictures on FB but since FB is being such a pain in the bottom, I thought I should take this opportunity to spice up my blog site. Heh.

Not too long ago, some of my good friends and I went to appreciate nature at the forest reserve. Although we started rather late in the morning (more like at about noon), the weather was very pleasant as the big trees shielded us from the hot sun and the air from the waterfall was so cooling.

Once we found the perfect spot to sit, our stomaches were already growling hecticly. So we fixed some egg and tuna sandwiches to partially satisfy our empty bellies. Later after that, we had roti canai and some chicken salad made from random ingredients but tasted wonderfully yummy. There were watermelon and pears for desserts.

A rather small but entertaining crowd. We discussed almost about everything - from delicious food to wedding rings. What a combination!

There was an ice cream man standing at the bottom of the hill and we had been eyeing on that man since we arrived at the forest reserve. After much convincing done by us to a particular girl buddy, we managed to get a cone of ice cream each and that just perfected our day! Yes, we admit we did bully her but deep down our hearts we do love her and she knows that.

This outing deserves a five star recognition from me! :) And by the way, the photos are already up on FB!!!!!!!! Woot!!

ginger + cinnamon

Diets are indeed sad but it plays a big role if I want to be skeleton thin.


Finally I got to make my own gingerbread cookies after a long time considering whether I should. One day my younger siblings came back with some birthday party packs and a gingerbread man was in each packet. That's where I got my inspiration from. So I decided that I should spend my Saturday baking....

Gosh it wasn't an easy task. Mixing the ingredients was a piece of cake but shaping these people was one hell of a difficult task. My dough was very soft so everytime a man or lady was shaped, I had to be really careful when picking it up else it'd get misshaped and wouldn't look like people anymore. However after 4 hours, 40 gingerbread people were baked and thankfully were very delicious.


A day later, all gingerbread people are happily in everyone's stomach. It's heartbreaking to see how fast the cookies go down our throats when it took hours to make them. Nevertheless, I'm happy that I baked it.

goodbye 2007

It's time to say adios to one roller-coaster-ride year. So much has happened in a very short period of time - successes, failures, ups and downs. Let the past be a lesson for the future undertakings.

Not to be forgotten, the things I am thankful for:

1. To perform dances after so many years
2. To run for marathons, eventhough it's not a complete one
3. To graduate with wonderful results
4. To conquer the highest peak in South East Asia
5. To be part of the most gorgeous wedding
6. To be employed by a foreign financial instutute

What made my day was the following words by my boss:


"Thanks for the cupcakes. They're delicious! I believed you received heaps of compliments already. Wishing you a good year ahead and may your aspirations come through. But your efforts are needed of course!"

sayonara

It's scary how time flies so quickly. Today is the first day of December and in 30 days we'll be saying goodbye to 2007. An exciting year I have to admit but let's not talk about it until the end of the year.

The last few weeks have been very hectic for me. There was too much going on until I didn't have the opportunity to get enough rest. Because of that, now I'm unwell and I suspect it's the viral fever which is circulating around.

Last weekend I went to Damai Laut, located just across Pangkor Island, for our bank's CBD retreat. I had to forgo my cousin's wedding just because of the compulsory attendence for this business trip. And let's not forget that I was the emcee for this successful event.

To be honest, it's not so much of a retreat. It's all work, work, work for me and my CMT10 colleagues. What made it even worse is that we had to take the old road to reach our destination. Let me tell you something. My team leader isn't a safe driver.

He had a little too much to drink the night before our departure back to KL. No thanks to him, we were short of one driver, so I stepped up and offered to drive. It was a honourable thing to do i.e. to let my other colleagues sleep during the journey back. I conked out right after I reached home.

Last Wednesday before our 4 months attachment, all of us went for a hike up Bukit Melawati. I was already sick by then, but I had missed the first hike last Hari Raya so I told myself I'm not going to miss another one. The hike reminds me of Mount Kinabalu but obviously it wasn't like it. Hiking was fun but later that evening, my body temperature went up, up, up.

After all these outdoor activities, I am now very tanned and my skin is full of mosquito bitings. Don't get me wrong, I still love being outdoors but for the love of God, let me get some rest. Honestly, I don't think I'm going to recover from my fever anytime soon.

all set

My luggage is all packed.

My script is all written.

My camera is fully charged.

My iPod is updated.

The adventure begins. Lets go soul searching!

tired, no?

Can you actually believe that I was at one point sick of going shopping? Have you ever heard of the saying: if you are looking for something, you won't find it?

I was nearly on the verge of breaking down yesterday in the heart of KL when I was supposed to get my Eid dress (Baju Raya, orang Melayu call it). Honestly, I have never bought a pair of these Malay traditional clothes by myself so you can imagine how lost I was trying to decide which cutting I wanted, what material I prefered, and what price range was reasonable. I was completely hopeless and in fact scared to be there. I was as if in a foreign country somewhere in South Asia.

At the end of the day, I managed to get a decent pair of baju with a lot of sweat on my back. I wasn't very happy because there was still so much to shop for - Eid, weddings (to attend, don't get excited just yet), and of course the preparation for the beginning of my career. And because there was so much to think of, I got tired of shopping and wished I didn't have to do it for a long long period of time.

Today, I was dreading to go shopping (I had to do it as I was running out of time). Surprisingly after two hours in the mall, my weird sickness of hating to shop has recovered and err.. I started to buy unnecessary things. I now have made a promise to myself to not spend for the next two weeks. Whoever who reads this, please be the witness!

Quoting from someone: "Girls and shopping, it's like irama dan lagu".

blabber 1

Yesterday for buka, I was asked to assist in making some traditional curry puffs for the family and some friends. I love curry puffs and I always knew that the process of making them is very tedious. I gave it a go anyway, just to find out how funny my curry puffs would look like.


My mother requested me to practice my folding skills with Play-Doh after obversing my ugly looking work. In the picture above, the ones on the left are mine whereas on the right they are the perfect little curry puffs made by my mother. I know presentation is important but once they're in your stomach, they would all look the same. Hehe.

A few days ago, I overheard my father discussing with his friend on how children these days cannot afford living with their work salary in some significant kind of lifestyle. They emphasised on designer's espressos and I was a little ashamed. It's true, at least for me. I have been living this sort of lifestyle since I was studying abroad. Whenever I want to catch up with friends, I would definitely end up at one of these coffee place. Even when I need to catch up with work, these cafes would be my choice of place. I think these coffee houses are pretty convenient. Everything under one roof - the drinks, the food, wireless connection, air-conditioning, good music, comfort, comfort and comfort.


The above is my personal favourite. I know I should have some sense of loyalty to the cafe I used to work in and to another competitor for which I used to always get free drinks. I don't know, I just can never get sick of this place. Even when their drinks are no longer up to my standard.

Let me tell you some of my experience with Starbucks Coffee:

1. I was introduced to Caramel Macchiatto 4 years ago and since then it has become my usual order.

2. Due to some bad influence, I.... erm.... stole one of their tall sized mugs.

3. I get 20% to 30% discount off my total bill in Penang because my cousin is a Starbucks' Coffee Master.

4. One Indian-English barista is Edinburgh Forest Road branch was cute.

5. Tell me who doesn't go dating in Starbucks?

6. Ever since my trip to Uptown 37's Starbucks, my Caramel Macchiatto is never perfect anymore. They need to go easy with the foam and give me more milk, goddammit!

Inhale... exhale... maybe if someone was generous enough to get me an espresso machine, I could make my own Caramel Macchiatto and not complain a lot.

happy ramadhan

All because of this weekend, I got into some kind of trouble today. Getting the suitable thing was one hell of a challenge. I suffered a massive headache until I have nearly given up looking. Thought I needed to ease my mind so I bought myself a pair of shoes. Totally didn't need it but it was pretty effective because my headache went away.

It's true how buying something sometimes helps when I'm under some sort of stress. It is a bloody expensive solution and I wish I can say I hardly do it. Seems like these days I've been spending as if money grows from trees. Trouble number one: Fire in the hole. Cash is constantly burning.

Actually that's the only major trouble I'm facing. I somehow ended up with another book today, so that's going to keep me occupied until the end of the year.

Selamat berpuasa everybody. May all of us enjoy the Bazaar Ramadhan and Tarawih this month.

My So-Called Profession

I have always been told that engineer graduates like me are not very artistic. Somehow true but ever since I reached my homeland, I am often given the opportunity to express my artsy side. Take for instance, I was hired on the spot to redecorate my friend's wedding hantaran the morning of his big day. Of course it doesn't match up to a professional standard, but I was rather pleased with the outcome. First time given a huge responsibility during a wedding, I was flattered.


And then, I challenged myself with this fairycake project. My icing decoration debut, so I was expecting it to be a mess. True enough, I was covered with icing mix. My fingers, my hands, my clothes. It also didn't meet the professional standard such as that of Angel or even Cuppacakes, but I did receive some wonderful compliments about the colourfulness of my fairycakes. ;)


From the moment I started working at the coffee house, I felt I should have thought about being a school teacher. I was constantly holding chalks of all sorts of shades, thinking of what to scribble on the black boards. And then, came yesterday where I was requested to make up a recruitment ad for a position I had just left. I guess it's funner than making many cups of coffee.


I knew for a fact that I have the wrong tertiary ed qualification and there no doubt that I did enjoy the times spent completing the artsy work. An all round decorator, that's what I like to be called. I'm still not as good, but I believe it takes time.