Daniel Henney, again

Since I'm so in love with Daniel, I'm sure you all won't be surprise to see another post about him again. After seeing the availability of clips on YouTube.com when my friend directed me there for the earlier Angelina Jolie video clip, I thought I should try searching for something on him. Lo and behold, there were clips of Daniel. Well, before some of you roll your eyes at this posting again, I have news for you. I will definitely be posting more stuff on MY Daniel, it's my blog, and I'll blog on Daniel if I want to!

He doesn't say a word in this 33 second commercial but he still looks good here flirting with Gwyneth Paltrow. To see more and hear his voice, go to Bean Pole International. He doesn't have to say anything to me. He can be mute for all I care, I will never get tired looking at him (of course other things come to mind! Ha ha ha....). But I think he has to be blind too if I ever get a chance! LOL... he's got such a nice voice. Just like Yutaka, deep and smooth. Oh! And that American accent. Help! I'm melting again....Before I heard him speak, I was afraid that he's going to be one of those guys with a squeaky voice or something like that. The men with the good voices usually aren't so good looking. Cos God is fair, that's why. Ha ha ha .... That's why God gave me this vertically and horizontally challenged body because if I weren't, I will probably wreak havoc like a geisha. To have the ability to stop a man in his tracks with just one look from me (I mean, from the point of attraction, not fright! LOL). So, it seems for now that MY Daniel is almost perfect.

Come live in my heart and pay no rent. ~ Samuel Lover

The Corrs

I was pleasantly surprised to find a few old friends "spamming" my chatterbox. I knew these people from my earlier involvement with The Corrs Fan Club. Of course, yours truly was the oldest fan there. The group had lots of fun, gatherings, jamming in the studio and even performing on stage in Sungei Wang! Yes, I was one of the lead singers and had my share of about 15 minutes of fame. LOL ...

That's me in blue, centre. Pic is kept small as to protect the identity of the rest of the members!

Of course, that was back in 2000. Finally in 2001, my dream came true. The Corrs staged a concert here and at that time, I was helping out Warner Music. I helped to design and word The Corrs Dream Collection inlay and even had a hand in choosing the tracks. For that, I was rewarded with a special uncut copy of the inlay, several copies of The Corrs Dream Collection and a meetup with The Corrs themselves.

Just look at all the stuff I was holding, all signed by them!

Yes, those were the days indeed. I'm still keeping all those stuff, maybe I will part with them one fine day (sell them on ebay!) But till then, these are all good memories. I will never forget that day when I met The Corrs as it was also the same time my life would change for another reason. Yes, good memories indeed.

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. ~ From the television show The Wonder Years

Daniel Henney

A new Korean drama started yesterday, My Lovely Sam Soon (a.k.a. My Name is Kim Sam Soon). It's somewhat like a Korean version of Bridget Jones' Diary and is quite funny as the leading lady daydreams a lot. Anyway, my friend told me to see the show as there is a handsome Korean (mixed with Anglo American blood) actor, Daniel Henney. Daniel was a model before he first acted in this drama. However, he doesn't appear till midway of the series.

Being curious as to how good he looks, I did a search. I came across some modelling pics of him and realised that I have seen him before. And then, the pic of all pics was there. I clicked on the thumbnail to see the larger image of it, and when the larger pic appeared, my jaw dropped, I could not look away from such a wonderful sight and almost fainted. My knees were weak and my stomach had butterflies (or maybe I was just hungry???? Ha Ha ha...) Yutaka Takenouchi is still my favourite but of course I now have a new addition. I guess I just like the bad boy look, like the way Yutaka looks in With Love. However, Daniel plays a doctor in this series (I'll be "ill" everyday, just to see him) and looks very clean cut and decent, different from the picture. Oh, I'm sure you would like to see that pic. What? And share him with you folks? LOL .... Okay, he may not move your world like he does for me, but here's Daniel. I made it really small so as to not spoil the surprise and keep the element of excitement, so click on the small thumbnail for a larger image). He's 6' 2'', by the way *swoons* ... What do you all think?

Boy! I can stare at this pic the whole day!!!!

Read more about him. Meanwhile, I'm off to swoon some more and do my fair share of daydreaming. *kiss*kiss*!

I ran up the door, opened the stairs,
said my pajamas and put on my prayers -
turned off my bed, tumbled into my light,
and all because he kissed me good-night!
~ Author Unknown

My Indulgence, Tous

Had a meeting today and later met up with CC and Lyn for lunch in 1Utama. CC suggested a new place, Tai Tai, located at Ground Floor, new wing. I told them that I was the "maid" and they were the Tai Tais...LOL

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tai tai is a term used in Chinese circles, which translates in its strictest sense as 'supreme wife' where a man is wealthy enough (Tai-pan) to have several wives. The term implies respect but it is no longer strictly interpreted. It now applies to the wife of a wealthy man who does not need to work for money. A Tai tai is a privileged lady of means. To qualify as a Tai tai, one must have lots of leisure time, lots of money and lots of gossip to exchange.

It's one of those boutiques that has food and couture. I must say I enjoyed the ambience. The food was okay, with set lunches (main meal and unlimited tea) available for RM9.90. I had the Hakka Stew Pork with Black Fungus Rice, CC had the Cantonese Fried Noodles and Lyn had the Sweet and Sour Pork Rice. We ordered a side dish of steam egg (Sam Wong Tan) which consists of century, salted and the normal egg. Service was quite okay except that we had to wait a while for the steam egg. The waiter did apologize when he served us the dish. Maybe real Tai-Tais eat at a pace that is really slow since they have lots of time and gossip to exchange and therefore food is cooked at a leisurely pace? Ha ha .... Nevertheless, we still enjoyed ourselves and said we wouldn't mind eating there again. So, the overall experience was a good one.

After that, I decided to visit Tous in Parkson. I have been wanting to get myself a Tous pendant since Meg told me about them when we were in Parkson a few months back. I haven't bought anything nice for myself for awhile now and decided to indulge by getting myself not one, but two Tous pendants.

When I reached home, I didn't open the bag immediately as the little bag was just too cute. I sat down and carefully took out the aluminium coated bubble foil and removed the ribbon. So, Meg, you asked for pics of the pendants, here they are! Ah, I'm so happy with the pendants. They are soooooo cute, I'm contemplating starting a collection of them now. But before that I have to start a collection of money first! Ha ha ha.....

Looks too nice to be unwrapped!

That's a 50 sen coin in the middle, can't see it due to the flash reflection.

The Tous bear's engraved non-painted back, you can wear it on both sides.

Lyn and CC made a remark that it looks like I wasn't the "maid" after all since I'm the one who bought the Tous pendants! Well, one's gotta do what one's gotta do. And if that means spending some moolah in the process, just do it! Just don't get yourself into debt doing it! Life is short!

Happiness is .... getting not only what you want but double the dosage! - wmw

Ohana

I had dinner tonight with my family again. Was also out with them last night. When I told KCC that, she asked me what's up with all the family bonding! Well, I have always placed my family first especially dear mom (though we have had our share of arguments! :p) and I feel the older we all get, we actually have a lesser time on earth to be with them. Anyway, on Saturday night, we celebrated mom's belated birthday (her's the same as Jen) , my bro and sis-in-law, which fell on 26th. What are the odds of finding a spouse with the same birthday huh? Well, they did! We had our dinner at Rib Lee's in Taman Sea. We had a dozen of escargots and I ordered my fave baby pork ribs!!!! It was good but wasn't fully satisfied as they did not have the honey calamari (done with chilli padi, a must try for spicy food lovers!) and the oreo ice cream cake. Seems that they are not stocking up for now as they are moving soon and that the lady boss had just given birth and has not been working. They will be moving to Desa Sri Hartamas, I was told, opposite Burger King.

Sunday night, we went to Asia Cafe. This time round, it was a small makan as it was my bro and sis-in-law's 17th Anniversary! I had earlier gone to Tesco Fruity Shah Alam to have a look see and bought the last remaining Apple Strudel for them. The plan was to have a simple meal and then go home for desserts, Apple Strudel and two other cakes!!! Thank goodness the Char Kway Teow stall was open today. If you folks want to try it, it's stall No. 5!

A good heart these days is hard to find, unless you are in San Francisco!

Back to family matters, I really do feel that it's such a waste if there were some of us who, for one reason or another, had stopped speaking to our siblings, parents or a loved one. One day, it will be time for us to move on to our new lives, and I do hope that we will have closure on such issues before we do move on. Just remember, never forget to let your family/loved ones/friends know that you do cherish them. If not in words, then by your actions. If I get into an argument, I make it a point not to stay angry/be upset for long. Like I always say, let's not waste our life with such feelings but try and fill it with positive ones. We should speak from the heart and less from the mind as time passes by. As for friends who have dissapointed me in the past, I have long forgotten. I was just asking my friend this the other day - I may not have forgiven them but if I've forgotten them, how then can I forgive them? They have ceased to exist, so there's no one to forgive. LOL ...

The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you.
~ Kendall Hailey, The Day I Became an Autodidact

Today's Sepecial!

I came across this food catering leaflet while visiting my friend in Cheras. It was one confusing leaflet. Reading the first sentence, I would have thought it meant free rice is supplied for dinner but then it later says dinner with rice will be charged! Oh, and the Sepecial must be real special indeed.


Then it goes on to say that they give calorie desserts (though free)! I don't want to be reminded that I'm eating calorie laden desserts! I want to be in a state of denial that a minute's pleasure on the lips is NOT going to be a lifetime burden on the hips! What's wrong with these people??? Their love for "s"es also never fails to amuse me. However, it comes back to bite me in the behind at times as I find myself saying the "s"es where there isn't any! Mo mo ca ca sounds weird too.


Click on the next pic for a larger image. Their love affair for "s"es continues and I think to really rope in the revenue, they tell us that they are giving us FREE PORK! Such ingenious marketing and timely indeed when we are now hit with bird flu! Later, they even try to throw in a Malay word, but I'm sure the FREE PORK offer would not be pulling in any Malay customers. Reading the leaflet was all in all, an exasperating experience!


Relating an incident about bad "Engrish" when a consultant was trying to motivate us, she said this....

"If you think you can, you CAN!"
"If you think you are a can't, you ARE a CAN'T"

With the additional "a" and the way Malaysians pronounce CAN'T (unlike the Americans), that motivational line took on a whole new perspective! JC and I looked at each other and controlled ourselves till she walked out of the room. Only then did the two of us burst out laughing till we had tears streaming down our faces!!!! I tell you sometimes we speaks without thinking and that's when we goes wrongs! Ha ha ha ... Just love the English Language!

Our language is funny - a fat chance and slim chance are the same thing.
~ J. Gustav White

Premier Club 2006 - Espana

Took a pic with Alan Boy (management) here but decided to crop myself out of the shot for the fact that I could look better. Ha Ha.... Then I went round taking shots of some of the colorful people I came across. I was told that the costumes for this theme were all rented out and no longer available in the Klang Valley for tonight and some had actually tailor made them! Wow!

You see, the theme will usually be what ever country that has been chosen for our Premier Club trips. Premier Club 2005 theme was Japan, and there were lots of "Japanese" strutting around the ballroom last year.

Management Matadors & Zorro!

These are not management staff, these are hired dancers entertaining us while we wait to enter the ballroom.

A few of the consultants in their outstanding costumes

These two here are buddies and they even dress quite alike

The "not-so-in-theme" gang but lovely company nevertheless!

CC's first time award! Yay!

Fiona, our Lucy Liu look alike, looking good!

And what or who am I suppose to be? I of course, am a Chinese Spanish! Ha ha.... Yay! I'm going off to Tokyo in about a week's time! I wonder where will we be going in 2008? I sure hope to make it for 2007's trip to Spain!

A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking. ~ Earl Wilson

Nate Berkus & Changes

It has been another hectic day today. Lunch, bank, office, a visit to see a friend and her new born baby girl and meeting. These activities kept me occupied from 1 to 9 pm. Jo, Piper and I then went off to Ming Tien again this week for a late dinner. Now I'm back home and dead tired. Somehow or rather, I told myself that I had to post something, it makes me feel uncomfortable now if I miss one day. Of course, when I'm away in Tokyo, it won't be the case as I don't have access and I'll be enjoying the new sights and sound around me.

The bonus offer has been extended till 24 April! So, I will still have a chance to see some clients to take up the offer. On one hand, that's good but on the other, I had wanted to clean up my place since the earlier offer date ended 21 March and I told myself that I can take some time off from work totally. I look around my place and I want to change the setting. Have a mini house makeover. I want a new look to the house, after 3 years, it can do with a change. I see Nate Berkus on Oprah doing all those house makeover and I told myself that I want one too! Nate is so cute *swoons*, I love to see him on the show. I remember watching the episode when he came on to relate the Tsunami incident which claimed his partner, Fernando, I was so sad for him.

Now I want to do exactly what his book title says. Will try to look for it in the stores and see if the book is any good apart from having Nate on the cover! Ha ha....But that picture doesn't do him justice ... The pic in the link above is nicer, I like to see him with his 5 o'clock shadow. Home makeover and changes. Ah yes, there will be changes in my life, some known, some unknown but all inevitable. It's another day for me to live tomorrow but for now, it's bedtime.

People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one. ~ Leo J. Burke

All Things Good!

Backtracking to last Saturday, I went to SK's house for a Sarawak laksa party. Her mom, Betty, is in town and SK decided to have a gathering where we could try out her mom's cooking. I call her mom by her name and not Auntie. I first met Betty about 10 years ago in Cameron. I told her that she looked too modern for me to be calling her Auntie. What do I mean by modern? Well, she wears stillettos with her t-shirt and shorts! So, I've been calling her Betty since then. I had the good fortune of visiting her twice in Kuching while I was there, eating her dishes and cakes. She and Uncle George would even bring me around for my fave kolok mee and other good stuff! The last time I was there was in July 2005 for the Rainforest World Music Festival. I look forward to another Kuching trip soon especially when Air Asia has made it so cheap for us to travel!

The Alam Flora crew. Spot the singletons!

We had a feast that night and really enjoyed the food. Betty cooked Sarawak Laksa, Fried Bee Hoon, Lo-Bak and we had Tub Tim Grob and cheesecake (or did SK make the cheesecake?) for dessert. SK had a funny conversation with SL's husband about the noodles used for the Sarawak Laksa. This is what I can remember from that conversation minus a word or two.

SK : We use the birthday noodles in Kuching, the really long ones but these has been cut up.
SL's hubby: Ours is really long
SK : Really? Yours really long?
SL's hubby: Yes, really loooong......
SK: Yah, the longer the better.

I can't remember what was said next as I almost choked on my laksa! Ha ha ..... After eating, I caught up with Mildred whom I have not seen for a long time and also had a nice chat with Yat, SK's sis-in-law.

Anyway, after all that, it was time to go. As you can see, I was indeed sad to go and leave all that food behind, they had to drag me away from the gate. LOL..... Nah, I was just kidding around. Actually, I was still in the house (note the wall on my left). I was still hanging around SK's place with TOL while others left. So I was bidding them farewell and pretending to be sad! Sob! Sob! Hee hee... It was a nice gathering. Friends should be treasured and times like these will always be remembered. I think TOL and I were also thankful that we are still single, looking at the rest of the group, I think domestic life doesn't agree with me! Ha Ha... That night, the gathering was another celebration of life in a way. Family, good friends and good food, what more could one ask more?

We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink ... ~ Epicurus

Most Unusual

Last day for submission of cases before the bonus offer ends. Had earlier met T, my dvd seller to collect his cheque for investment. He had to wait for his daughter to come back to get her signature and ended up only meeting me pass midnight yesterday! JC and I were at Kayu Nasi Kandar having teh tarik while waiting for him. Did you know that Kayu Nasi Kandar has an outlet in Australia and plan to open more??? Check out the prices in their takeaway menu (click for a larger image) It's available for download on their website!!!! Roti Canai costs $3! Whoa! That's in Aussie dollars!

Anyway, I told JC that this is another first for me. In the past, it was a first for an unusual place to be processing a case. I visited my client in JB who was renting a place and I thumbprinted him on the bed! Before you all go WHOA!!!!!!!, NOTHING happened, we both sat on the bed, a stool in front of us for me to put my forms on and I thumbprinted him. "ON" THE BED, NOT "IN" BED, OKAY?????!!!!! THE END. He practically lived in his room, he watched TV in his room and had a little corner to cook in the room too! He had no table! Ha ha.... I've known him for 2 years then and anyway, JC was also there with me. Well, last night was the first I have ever encountered in meeting with a client past midnight at the mamak stall! The latest or shall I say, earliest appointment in my entire 9 years of doing this.

TD dropped by my place today and we went off to meet JC for lunch and had a discussion about our meeting agenda. TD wanted to talk about life and death preparations because of what I have learnt from Jen. JC said that not all are receptive about such things, which we agreed, and it was back to the drawing board for us. Now what topic shall we touch on? Mmmm.... How about "The Most Unusual Experience You Have Had With A Client?" LOL ......

Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment. ~ Rita Mae Brown

Yellow

Woke up this morning, got ready and put on my yellow blouse. Sweet was in hers too and we made our way to TTDI for the service. Jen made us all a bookmark with another pic of hers in her yellow dress with these words at the back :-

Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free;
I took His hand when I heard him call;
I turned my back and left it all.
If my parting has left a void;
Then fill it with remembered joy.
My life's been full, I savoured much;
Good friends, good times,
a loved one's touch.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss;
Ah yes, these things, I too, will miss.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief;
Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your hearts and share with me;
God wanted me now, He set me free.

Tears started streaming down my face when I read that, it was hard not to cry. Then came the time to pay our respect to Jen and as we walked around her, I could not hold back my tears, the whole batch of school friends all cried along with the some of the people who had turned up at Kristus Aman. Sweet and I then made our way to the crematorium. After the hymns, we laid the yellow roses on Jen and bid our final farewell, we started crying all over again. I then wished her well in her new life and told myself that I should not be crying anymore. With that, Jen left us behind to continue with her new life at her new home while we continue with ours here on earth.

It's March 21st, it's also your birthday Jen. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN! Truly your birthday!

photo © Jordan Miller for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

Those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart don't know how to laugh either. ~ Golda Meir

Conversation Over Dinner

Went to Lily Cenario cafe for dinner and I remembered to bring my camera this time. JC and I ended up eating the vegetarian vermicelli again (with the lovely sambal on the side) while Coreen tried the kimchi seafood noodles. Since there were three of us, we ordered the Golden Peace flower tea. We loved the glass bowls and the tealight candle that was heating the tea added a nice touch to it.

Having dinner and tea there tonight brought a sense of calmness to me as I have been having a hectic week. I still have thoughts about life drifting in and out of my mind. Yes, I am still thinking of Jen, feeling sad at times and at other times, feeling a sense of gladness that she has started her new life.

Our conversation over dinner was about life naturally. I told them that I would like to start making my list of things to do when I start my new life. Things like what I should wear (orange would be the colour), what photo to use (the last thing I want is for my family to put up an ugly mugshot of me!), people to contact and I would list cremation instead of the usual six feet under. I told them that whosoever wishes to take some of my ashes can do so, the remainder would be taken by my family. My family in Malaysia should scatter them into the sea while Mrs Pitt should take some of me back and scatter them over the Golden Gate Bridge! Oh, I also told her that she should take some and scatter them in some of my favourite eating places, hopefully she doesn't get caught! Hmm, but that would mean that I'll probably be swept up and dumped into the bin! I'll have to revise that request. Ha ha....Oh, I would want some karaoke equipment set up for my guests to sing for me! Hee hee....I just don't want it to be a sad occassion. Of course, if my body is still of any use before cremation, I would like to donate myself. I think it would be great in some ways to continue "living" in others ;o)

For now, let's all of us celebrate life!

We should give meaning to life, not wait for life to give us meaning.
~ Unknown

Jen's Praying For Me...Thanks Jen!

Jen - 11.52 am

I was in Ikano when the first sms of the day came through at 12.06pm. I flinched.

Jen's sis : My sister went home with The Lord at 11.52 am today. Thanks for prayers.

I couldn't control my tears, mom just stood there looking at me, not knowing what to do. I know it was better for her to go. We all knew that but I just felt so sad, knowing that she's no longer here. When such things occur, I'm reminded of how fragile we are and that we take so many things or people for granted. Telling ourselves that there's always tomorrow for us to delay what we can do now. The thing is, we just never know whether there is a tomorrow, whether we go to sleep tonight and are able to wake up the next morning. So, tell me, if you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today?

I stopped crying and decided to make myself feel better by buying books to read. I went crazy and bought 6 books because I just felt like burying myself into them. The first book I'm gonna start on is Adrian Mole : The Cappucino Years by Sue Townsend, The other books are The Man Who Ate the 747, Rhode Island Blues, I Am What I Ate, Standing In The Rainbow and What I Learned On The Way To The Top. I hope to finish all 6 books by end of this year and being the occassional reader that I am, this is an achievement!

After passing on the news about Jen, we found out that there will be a daily wake service at 9pm on Friday, Sat and Sunday. She will be cremated on Monday after a church service at Kristus Aman in Taman Tun Dr Ismail. She had also left instructions that we should all wear yellow on that day (yellow is her favourite colour). We then made arrangements to attend the wake service at 9pm tonight. Euro and I arrived first and Sweet and Ju, later. I was okay till Sweet came out crying and before I knew it, tears started to stream down my face. I put my arms around Sweet and reminded her that she had said that it was better for Jen to go, so, we shouldn't be crying. We slowly dry our eyes and we kept it on an upbeat note by reminiscing the happy times the group had. We saw a lot of old schoolmates, some looked the same as they did 21 years ago while some looked entirely different. It turned out to be some sort of reunion for us and it took Jen's demise to bring us all together. I'm sure she must be smiling. Well, Jen, I don't think I look good in yellow but for you, I'll do it. Looks like I have to do some shopping later!

photo © Michael Jastremski for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than the living man. ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Long Night

Wow! What a long day it has been. Woke up at 7am today as I had to drive to JC's house by 8am. 4 of us carpooled to MMU (MultiMedia University). The U looks quite nice, though I didn't really had a good look at the entire area. We were there on a recruitment drive for our company which had rented a booth in the exhibition hall. Being told by management that the earlier agencies managed to get a lot of names to follow up on, we all worked extremely hard. The end result after being there from 9 to 1pm? 120 names, through good teamwork!!!! Previously, the highest was just 66 names. It was exciting but standing throughout the whole stint is no fun! I think I'm gonna sleep like a log when I turn in for the night later as I have been up since early morning till now!

Kain Burok came for meeting today. So, after the meeting ended, we went to Ming Tien and called Jo along too. Only reason why Jo could stay out late with us is cos she took leave for Friday, yup, took leave to sing karaoke!. Not with me, I still have a busy schedule and can't take time off for it. (Woh...did I just type that? Me? The one who loves karaoke? The one who plays more than work?) Well, maybe it's my tired mind "talking"! Ha Ha Ha ... I'm truly not myself right now.

And as if being tired (yet not wanting to miss a day of posting!) is not enough, I got an sms from KCC about Jen, telling me that another friend had just contacted Jen's sis.

wmw : And?
KCC : Nothing can be done and to make preparations....

I flinch each time I receive an sms nowadays. It's a terrible feeling and the fact is that all of us just don't know what to do, what to say or what's going on. Ju and Penny haven't even had a chance to see her yet. Yes, it has been a long day indeed and it's gonna be a long night too.... too long.

photo © Michael Jastremski for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

Giving up doesn't always mean you are weak. Sometimes it means that you are strong enough to let go. ~ Author Unknown

SMS

wmw : Hi! How's Jen doing?

Jen's sis : Not good I'm afraid. But she's gonna go home this evening. Under care of Hospis Malaysia. Pain's increasing by the day, so are the drugs. But she is still fighting on...

wmw : We don't know what we can do. Is there anything that we can do?

JS : Moments like these, please pray that God will relief the pain and grant her peace. Thanks.

wmw : Have been doing that and will continue to do so. Please let her know and that we send her our love.

God understands our prayers even when we can't find the words to say them. ~ Author Unknown

Night and Day

Someone commented that I seem to be eating a lot from the postings of my blog. Well, we eat everyday and since I do have a love affair with food, when I eat, it's one of the highlights of my day. So, if I didn't post about some food that I ate, it would have meant that I had probably stayed in and ate instant noodles or something boring. Speaking of food, Ikea is now serving Chilli Con Carne Hot Dogs for RM3. With a generous serving of chilli with mince chicken topping, it sure beats A&W's Coney Dog hands down! Kick it up a notch higher with extra cut onions from the self serve counter. It's a must try!

It was another busy day for me, running errands and seeing clients. Even with the self dictated hours, I find the day passing really fast and at the end of it, one wonders where did time go. In a way, I do empathise the frustrations of those who work 9 to 5 as they have less time to themselves after devoting those hours to their work (and some continue working at home too!) Well, at least the employees in the banking sector have something to rejoice about since they no longer work on Saturdays. Travelling on the road during peak hours is no fun either and made worse on days like today when the sky decided to unleash its wrath! I wish it would only rain when most people get ready to turn in for the night as rain during the day causes disruption to our daily routine. However, it's funny how the disruptive rain can become so different at night, bringing a sense of calmness and peace to most. Note : Add this to the list of differences between night and day!

I'm gonna be moving around a lot till end of the month, new fund launch plus the usual rush to get errands done before I go off to Tokyo. I have been faithfully blogging everyday since I started this blog on Feb 22. So, the only time there won't be an entry is probably that week when I'm away in Japan. I'm kinda excited about the impending trip as I've not been to Japan before. And of course to the land of my heart throb Yutaka Takenouchi! Short of thinking of him night and day, I feel like a teenager (hey! come to think of it, I've always felt like a teenager!) and harbour hopes of catching a glimpse of him. A candlelight dinner with him would be good too! Ha Ha... I figure, upon failing to spot him in Japan, reality will hit me. When I get back, I'll go into seclusion for a week and watch my vcds of "With Love" again and again, with tears streaming down my face! Ha ha ha...Okay, I'm off to dream about him! O ya sumi nasai!

Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives. ~ William Dement

Home

Got my appointment rescheduled to tomorrow and that meant I was free today. I finally got down to buying a new steering wheel lock. My old Autolock was not working anymore as it can also Autounlock! I had been using it as a display unit as I could open it by just gently prying it apart with my hands, no keys needed! Ha ha ... So much for security, huh? It has served me well, even when the rubber part disintegrated after 6 years, my dear mom stitched some fabric around it and I still managed to use it for another 2 years!

I had dropped CSI an email to see how she's been and her reply alarmed me as its contents sounded a bit serious. I immediately picked up the phone and made a long distance call to see if she was okay. As it turns out, she just need some time away to think things over about her life but emotionally she is okay. Glad to know that. Why do people run off to some country or other when they need to sort their lives out? Why can't we sort out our lives right where we are? Short trips are fine but migration entails so much of change. Maybe that's the answer, change, some migrate to change their lives. I figure though, if something/someone has affected us so deeply that we have to remove ourselves that way, that unwanted and maybe faded feeling will creep back into us time and time again no matter where we are. New place, new faces and a new life perhaps, but never a new heart and soul. Mrs Pitt, you got a place for me to stay over there for good? LOL

Being a great fan of Angelina Jolie (yay! I'm for Brangelina!), I was delighted to be forwarded a video clip of a young AJ in 1993 I think, starring in Meatloaf's Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through , don't know why it's not spelled as True (I'll definitely be posting more stuff on her in future!). I've always enjoyed Meatloaf songs since I first heard his 1977 album, Bat Out Of Hell, when I was just a kid! My favourite song back then was "You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth". Back to the video, it shows AJ running away from home, from her problems and in the end, she goes home. Enjoy the clip. I figure we all go home in the end, no matter where we are, because as the saying goes, "Home is where the heart is".

Where we love is home,
Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., Homesick in Heaven

Engrish

Had a lethargic day, that time of the month and my nerves are on the fray! Thankfully, I made it through the day. Church message was good - we don't need miracles to believe in God/Just believe in Him! True, true. But get this, Pastor mentioned that we shouldn't get upset if our loved ones forget to buy us presents on our birthday/anniversary/Christmas as long as they are with us. This one isn't so convincing! Ha ha...Now all the guys will be using this as a reason when they forget the day or if they are being cheapskate!

I came across this as I was trying to clear my mail. It's a birthday card from my regular karaoke joint. I took a pic of it, it's a bit blur but you can make out the words. I really enjoy coming across such things as it really makes me laugh. I get attachments like this in the e-mail all the time and I myself have seen many of such signs when I travel overseas but I never did take pictures of them. Since I started blogging, I think I should make it a point to do so and post them here. Laughter should always be shared! Check out Engrish.com for more humour!

Huh? Say What?

KCC dropped by and we went to Asia Cafe for dinner. We had durian and mango pancakes, good stuff! The owner of the stall is Maggie J, cool name. This lady runs the Sweet Heart Dessert stall and sells a lot of other goodies like cempedak pancake, cold beancurd - Strawberry/Kiwi flavour and mochi. Mmm...must try the rest next time. Oh, I finally got to eat the infamous Char Kway Teow. I had people telling me that it's good but each time I'm there, the stall is closed or never opened! Must say, it's quite good, I give it an 8/10.

Well, it's bed time for me, I need to get some sleep. Mrs Pitt says that if I don't catch up on my sleep, I'll be carrying LV luggage bags under my eyes! ... but I'm still feeling so full!

Sleep 'til you're hungry, eat 'til you're sleepy. ~ Author Unknown

Procrastinate Now!

KCC smsed me Jen's sister's contact no. Through her own contacts she managed to get it when I told her about us forgetting to yesterday. Forwarded it to Ju and she called, smsing me later to let me know that Jen's still not up to receiving visitors but she has some vision now, as to what extent, we don't know. Not much changes apart from that. We continue to pray for her.

Well, I took mom downtown today to pay the maintenance fees for Blue Boy Mansion, no, this is an old flat located at Tong Shin Road, nothing to do with the Blue Boy located in Sultan Ismail (known for its "happy" crowd). I was surprised to know that Blue Boy (not the mansion) had existed. I can't remember when I was told by whom and when, mmm....could have been 10 years ago. However, I'm sure that there must be some "happy" people staying in Blue Boy Mansion. Hee hee... The office was closed and I realised that they must have declared a 5 day week too since banks are not working on Saturdays anymore. Not wanting to waste the trip down, we headed for our favourite pork noodle stall for brunch. I've been eating from this stall since I was in my junior secondary!!! I don't even have to tell the lady my order anymore, I walk up to her, show my face and take a seat! Ha Ha....Of course the trip would not be complete if we didn't pack some of the famous Tong Shin Char Siew a few shops away from the coffeeshop where we ate.

Fast forward, drove back up to PJ and we shopped in 1Utama. Mom was happy as she got what she was looking for, 3 value for HER money t-shirts which I paid for with MY money, not that she asked me to but I wanted to get them for her. Hee hee... So, mom must be very happy indeed. I was actually feeling so tired that I couldn't wait to go back for a nap. I did, from 4 till 6 plus pm, and before you know it, it was time for dinner. We ended up in Sakae Sushi, The Curve and proceeded to go to Ikano for Popular's Book Fair at the concourse. Wow, one after another, first it was MPH, then Time, now Popular, told myself not to go crazy, got to save money for petrol nowadays. Got myself another book, Quick and Easy Crafts Greeting Cards for just RM24, real cheap! Gees, I really have to sit down one day and start making something out of the books I have. But for now, I have gotta do my housechores.....eh, not now, later. As TD said "Procrastinate NOW!" A cute oxymoron that he coined (or did that come from somebody else???) LOL....I really got to stop taking so much time off to "smell the flowers". Mrs. Pitt must surely be rolling her eyes reading this! Reminder : Stick to my resolutions!

photo © Michael Lane for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done.
~ Author Unknown

Friends

Went with Sweet to UMSC today. Jen was not really up to receiving visitors. They have given her morphine and she has been taking it every 5 minutes or so. We didn't talk about what happened but was informed by the other people in the room through their hand signals that she has lost her sight. Sweet spoke to her and Jen, with eyes closed was still able to deliver her classic sarcastic lines. That was good. We just stopped by for awhile and left shortly. We told Euro and Ju that Jen requested that they need not drop by as she needed the rest. We told Jen that we would see her back in the house. When Sweet and I left the room, both of us were fighting back our tears.

As we made our way back to the carpark, we realised that we were so "Duh" as we didn't find out from her sis (who was there) the actual situation or take down her sister's contact number. I suppose we just forgot in the midst of all the thoughts running through our mind. As the both of us chatted on the way there and back, I felt like we were still in school but of course more matured and capable of driving a car! I have never been out with Sweet, as in just the two of us, it has always been in a group. You know, the group use to meet up once a year during Chinese New Year but I guess after leaving school for 21 years, that is considered a good effort from all of us. I have always made it a point to keep in touch with all my friends. I still exchange the occasional email and sms with my "oldest" friend in Singapore, CW, once in awhile, this friend was my kindergarten partner, we then both went to the same primary and secondary school.

Sweet and I said that we would next meet up for Jen's birthday. In a way it's good that we have been meeting up all along and not just because of Jen's illness. However, the last time we met up in Jen's house in Feb, we made a pact to do so more often and to meet up on our respective birthdays. Friends to me are important, it takes a while to build but I have also found out that some friendships are so easily forgotten overnight. But we all move on, we will always have people coming in and out of our lives and that is something that I have accepted and learnt through tears and pain at times while some just fade away.

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. ~ Elisabeth Foley

Prayer

Got back from my usual Thursday meeting. The day started off well, met up with E, we had a long and interesting chat, exchanging our views on life. He invested in the new fund. I then went to the office for the meeting. It was a continuation of AHA, which was interesting and we broke into our own groups and did some sharing. I was feeling happy throughout. When the meeting ended, JC, Soo and I then went to McDs and I had my Fillet O Fish (the only fish that I will eat!) We bought some food from the Lims for our breakfast as they were wrapping up for the night. Plaza Mont Kiara has a weekly Thursday night flea market and another one on Sunday mornings. The Lims sell food like Yam Rice, Thai Bee Hoon, Coconut Jelly and today's new addition was Yam Cake. We made them happy and we were happy.

Shortly after, we were all feeling good and chatting away at McDs when I suddenly took a look at my handphone. I had a missed call from Ju. I said to myself, "Shit, this isn't good!" as I know that she usually doesn't call me that late at night and if she did, it can only mean bad news. Then I read her sms, "Got an sms from Jen's phone, saying that she's been admitted to UH". I called Ju back and we both didn't know what to do since it was already almost 11pm. I told her that I'll drop by UH tomorrow. Meanwhile, we can only continue to hope for the best.

Suddenly I felt drained and all sort of thoughts kept occupying my mind. Tried to get in touch with Euro but couldn't reach her. I can only pray. As soon as I got home, I stood, looking out of the window into the dark. The silence was deafening. I had a conversation with God. I prayed for strength and peace for Jen, for everyone.

Hope is some extraordinary spiritual grace that God gives us to control our fears, not to oust them. - Vincent McNabb

Entertained We Were !

Got back late. Gonna do a short post I guess. Had dinner in Chynna, KL Hilton. This time round, we had Peking Duck, crispy noodles with shredded duck meat, poached spinach (my fave) with salted and century egg. Good dinner, then headed on to Zeta Bar for some after dinner entertainment. The place was just about to get crowded and we got the last table available there. The band Southern Glow came on shortly and sang Hotel California, reggae style. Not knowing any details about them, I guessed they were from South Africa (later found out that I was right). A female singer came on later and sang Another Sad Love Song and Smooth Operator. I really didn't know how to rate them. I guess you could say they were quite good but that might have been a bit bias of me as it has been a while I've heard singers with genuine accents. Ha ha....

The action however wasn't really on the stage but at the seats in front of me. There were two "ancient" men, one sported a long unkempt beard being the simpler dressed while the other looked like a old casanova, well groomed. This old casanova is no debonair but came across as cheesy as molded century aged cheese! And I guess that would make the bearded one, a molded 2 centuries aged cheese! Eeeww.... Not like some cute old folks that I sometimes come across. What they seem to have though was lots of moolah. Bottles and bottles of wine lined the table. And of course, this would be all meaningless without the women. There they were, flanked by 2 young women (then another 2 young women joined them, goodness gracious!). One was busy gyrating her body to the band's music, drinking their wine and smoking even a cigar!!! Throughout, the two blocks of cheese were lapping all the attention up and looking smug. You could see a lot of the people in the place just looking at them with all the action going on. The older block of cheese was even jiving to the beat of the music, I guess he was trying to look cool but then he looked more like a fool because he jived to the same beat, be it fast songs, mid-tempo and even ballads. Then he started pawing at one of the girls' back, and at one point, the girl left the room for awhile. I think she went out to puke, ha ha ha... cos it was truly excruciating for me to even witness it. Or maybe she secretly left but then to the unbelievable luck of the older cheese, she came back for more torture.

"Do you think I'm sexy? Do you want my body? Come on baby, Let me know..."

But I guess, the girls were there for their own reasons to which I can only imagine. And to my readers, if you have to ask me why, that would mean that you are still schooling! Stop asking and hit the books! Ha ha..... We had "entertained" ourselves thoroughly that night and left, feeling a bit queasy, not from the drinks but from what we saw. I hope those young girls won't get food poisoning! And if you have to ask why again, you're too young to be reading this blog! Good nite!

Women prefer men who have something tender about them - especially the legal kind. ~ Kay Ingram

What Were They Thinking Of?

I can't believe that I come across news of people doing silly things all the time. When it comes to the Internet, it makes it a whole lot easier to stumble upon such news. I recall an article which I read about two days ago on MSNBC. It involves A Man, A Woman, A Microwave and A Fake Penis at a convenience store in USA. What were they thinking of? Can't they do that at home? No, there's nothing kinky about it and yes, the article is rated G (by my standards! Hah!) Eh, I hope the microwave at convenience stores here are regularly cleaned and sanitized cos this makes me more cautious the next time I heat up some food on site! Ha ha.....

Microwave : "I'm not THAT innocent!"

I stayed in after my lunch appointment got rescheduled to Thursday. LK called me up later in the afternoon and we went off for some tea, well, late lunch for me. I brought her to a place near my condo, Lily Cenario Cafe, located at the corner shoplot at the back of New Paris Restaurant. We both had the tong sui of the day, which was Ma Tai, shuit yee with Tong Yuen (translated - water chestnut with white fungus and glutinous rice flour balls) and I ordered the Fried Vegetarian Vermicelli. I must remember to take my camera there the next time. It came in the cafe's self designed bluish glass bowls with matching small bowls for the wonderful home made chilli paste! Yum Yum! LK was commenting that it's so nice that she would like to buy some bowls off them! Anyway, the vermicelli was good, I enjoyed it. It had adequate teem chuk, shredded carrot, cabbage, mushrooms. We occupied the whole restaurant, understandably as this cafe is relatively new and it was about close to 4pm.

The cafe is dominantly white with hues of light green and with some nice deco items hanging from the top floor, flowing right down to the restaurant on the 1st level. Susan, one half owner of the place had mentioned earlier that there are plans for a gallery on the 2nd floor later on. This is becoming one of my favourite places to eat of late. As much as we would have liked to stay a bit longer, the dark clouds and the loud thunders sent us rushing home. The bill came to about RM16 plus, reasonable. Lyn was suppose to join us but felt a bit lazy to drive out. I think I'll be heading to this cafe pretty soon again with her. ;o)

Before we work on artificial intelligence why don't we do something about natural stupidity? ~ Steve Polyak

Hypocrisy

I just had a conversation with a friend. She told me that she had an encounter with someone who professes that she's a Christian and swears on God's name whenever there's a need to. As in "I swear to God, I didn't do it". "I swear to God that I won't do it". "I swear to God that I did it". So much so, if she gets struck down by lightning after uttering such words, I won't be surprised. Ha ha..... I really don't understand these people. I know this Christian and have also experience other Christians who have disappointed me. But of course, I do not allow them to cause me to stumble. To me, it boils down to the person himself/herself and religion is never at fault. People intrepret religion to whatever they want it to be. And let me put on record, that us mere mortals never need to vent our anger or resort to violence in the name of God. To think that one should have comprehend by now that God can and will deal with those who have done wrong. Who are we to carry out our own sentence on others? Yes, and precisely, that's what I told my friend, that we should leave God to deal with that particular someone. Hypocrisy is everywhere, along with all the other bad elements.

I can never understand how someone can talk about God, about his/her faith and keep saying that we should be Godly, be at the end of the day, so unGodly. I remember this particular person who was such, but there he was one minute, voicing out his displeasure and I like a fool, address the relevant parties in a calm manner that certain considerations had to be taken for his sake or any others who felt the same. The next thing I knew, he joined in the conversation and was telling me to "relax", and when I asked him, "Don't you have something to say?", all that came out from his mouth was "Relax, relax, all is fine, you should go take a seat." He was trying to get me back to my seat so that he could save his own butt. I kept quiet and let it go but later on, he painted the picture that I clammed up and was angry as he did not support my suggestion! He's the Angel and also the Devil! I didn't stay mad for long. But he obviously can't be trusted anymore, so nowadays, I'm civil with him. But you know what the sad thing is? People like him will not realise what they are doing. It's not only a matter of being a hypocrite but it's about painting the wrong picture of how Christians are to others. Those that are strong in faith will not falter but to those who are weak, these are the ones that will stumble. To those that are non believers, it will only seal their belief as to why they should stay away.

As I said, God will handle this and let us all learn that it doesn't matter what other people do to us, but what matters more it how we choose to react. For indeed, we are responsible for our own actions and also the consequences that comes along with the choices we made. Someone once told me, we can choose our own actions/words but we can never choose the consequences that comes with those actions/words.

Hypocrite: the man who murdered both his parents... pleaded for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan. ~ Abraham Lincoln

Packed Like Sardines

I was out having dinner with my family at Koon Kee Restaurant in Damansara Jaya. The clay pot chicken rice there is absolutely delicious. Everything is cooked from raw with the pots over charcoal. Busy Corner's clay pot is also not bad but is of a different variant as it has black pepper and tom yam flavour. But its original flavour loses out to Koon Kee's. We had 3 large pots, 3 soups and two veges that came to RM65 for the 6 of us. Good food, I recommend it.

It got me thinking though (not that I don't usually think!) that it might have been more expensive if they use gas instead, given the increase of late. Inflation is scary. It's something that can't be seen but yet evident in the ever increasing prices of stuff. That's why I'm in this line of business, investments, as we all really need to find ways to make our money work harder apart from just sitting in the bank. I can only wished that I was borned 30 years earlier to enjoy the simpler way of life at a lower cost of expenses. Granted, income would probably be less but I feel that we would still better off. Petrol prices have gone up so much since my first car! I heard it through the grapevine that petrol will be RM2.32/litre next year. It's sad to know those hit the hardest would be those that are of below average income. Contrary to what is being said, it would not bother the rich, it's merely an ant's bite or nothing at all!

Read Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's comment in The Star telling us to adapt and change our lifestyle to cope with the increase and this article retorting to his comment (note: this link was directed by Screenshots). Maybe I should sell off my car and buy an electric bicycle. Hey, maybe we could bring these in from China. With another "most likely to happen" price hike of petrol, I'm sure there's a market for these babies. I've seen Tesco selling them but not on a grand scale. Anyone of you interested? Let me know. Back to Datuk's comment, I like this part especially...

Najib said Malaysians should discard the preconception that public transport was for the lower class.
“Some ministers have told me that they use the light rail transit to go for functions,” he said.

http://www.idiom-magic.com/work2.htm

Errr....may I ask for names? I somehow get the funny feeling that even IF there are, it would be ministers from the opposition party as they are perceived to have a less "glamourous" lifestyle. What functions? Dinner functions? Yes, I can imagine the ministers packing in with the crowd like sardines during peak hours in their formal wear. Just think of how they will look like when they alight. I have had my fair share of experience with LRTs, Monorail and buses. Ever tried taking a bus during peak hours when it's raining and all the windows are up? Let's just say, alighting from the bus was a definite "breath of fresh air" moment! Sweaty bodies, smelly armpits and body odour is more that one could ever bargain for, not to mention having your toes stepped on! Oh! And how can I forget being one of the many female targets of this "dirty old man" who gets his kicks from thrusting his hips at his victims. His modus operandi would always be during the usual peak hours. The bus would be packed like crazy and we'll have no where to run to. I had noticed him earlier and was suspicious of his strange "movements" but the girls never did or say anything. I wasn't sure till I became his victim, shocked, I kept quiet and simply moved away from him (still innocent at that time and still is now! Ha ha...). However, there was no next time for him with me as I elbowed him in the chest really hard and proceeded to smile at him. If he wants to play games with me, I'll play games with him too. He kinda disappeared after that or maybe he just changed to another bus route! Now that I have my own car, I have other issues to deal with but I must say, more pleasant ones. Well, this is my RM1's worth on this issue (no longer 2 sen because of inflation!). There are a lot of angry people out there over this. God Bless Malaysia!

When angry, count four; when very angry, swear. ~ Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson, 1894

Oh! What a night!

I had a date with food tonight. This time, we met at Coreen's house. It's was Tasha's birthday. Coreen is still recovering from an acute case of food poisoning. She might be down, but she isn't out. Despite the way she's feeling, she still cooked. The fun thing about eating in her house is that we usually have international food. Not in the way you think. You see, her's husband is a pilot and knowing that his wife loves to cook, he gets her stuff from over all the world. Tonight's menu was simple as compared to times when she's is operating at 110% capacity. We had Bucatini (bought from Rome) pasta. It looks like our local loh mee, "fat mee" except Bucatini is hollow. This was served with a tomato based sauce with Turkey meatballs (bought from New York). On the side, we had beef ribs (from Sydney) and potatoes, we joked, though bought locally but nevertheless imported from Holland. So, now you get the idea of what we mean by "international". Everything tasted good, as usual, I love pasta, I am constantly collecting recipes of all sorts but never really get around to trying them out. I love to cook but when you stay in a small pad of your own, one usually eat out. My friends keep telling me to invite them, then I'll have a reason to cook. Somehow, I never get around to that too!

As much I had just proclaim my love for pasta, I admit that I have been unfaithful, as I also love beef ribs, as much as I also love the apple danish ala mode, made by Coreen too. I am truly ashamed of myself, but temptation was hard to resist, time and time again! When the beef ribs touched my lips, I knew it was so wrong but I told myself, since it tasted so good, I don't want to be right! I knew pasta was upset that I neglected the few strands of it which was left in the serving bowl, it looks dejected and must have felt the same. Ha ha....

The birthday cake appeared on the scene and caught my eye, though it was on a different league altogether, and stood no chance against pasta and beef ribs. It tried to get my attention with its candles burning bright, telling me "Look at me, over here, look at me!". I gave it a bite and left, never looking back. The whole gang then had a short karaoke session where I sang "Kiss and Say Goodbye", my farewell song to the ones I had loved that night. I drove home, recalling the sweet taste of beef ribs and smiled to myself. I probably should send Coreen a card, on it I'll write "Thanks for last night. It was great!" ;p

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie. ~ Jim Davis, "Garfield"

We should be dancing .... Yeah!

Was supposed to go to Shangri-La tonight but was feeling a bit tired and felt like staying home. We enjoy listening to the band, U.R.B., who is playing at the Lobby Lounge and go there often enough till we have become friends with the members; Sarita, Marlou and Brice. Well, they will be playing till end of this month and move on to their next gig in Cebu for 5 months.

In this aspect, my playground has changed over the years. I still remember my younger years where I first went to discos, slightly more than 20 years ago. Discos like Hollywood East (I think, or was it North/South/West???) located in Sg. Wang Plaza, Limelight in Ceylon Hill, 11 L.A (Lebuh Ampang!) where we would we go to catch Joanne Kam Po Po (I think that was her first place of debut) doing her raunchy show. There was also Picadilly, 1 Kia Peng and Fire where all night karaoke was first introduced. We would go there and start off with karaoke at about 9, sing a couple of hours, then go dancing, then karaoke again, dance and karaoke again. At the end of the outing, my friends and I would be singing "sleepily", mumbling into the mic while lying on the sofa, still refusing to go home! Ha ha...We would usually leave at about 3 am. New discos would pop up overnight and close just as fast too. And how can I ever forget dancing with the guys. We would always use the "famous hands on his shoulder, elbows pushing against his chest" to prevent him from smothering us!!!!!!! This is still a tried and tested technique that works and is still being practised today by girls/women around the world when it comes to fending them off. But of course, for those that we do like, we dance to a whole different tune altogether!

Euro, me & Jen (21 years ago!!!!)
Just before we went out to boogie woogie

Now, I am more content to sit down and listen to a band and hit the dance floor whenever the mood strikes. Now, where do I go? Shangri-La, Concorde, La Vida in Holiday Villa, Pan Pac Glenmarie (now Holiday Inn), RP (Rumah Peranakan) at Hyatt. Not that this means that I'm "feeling" old, my choice of venue has changed, that's all. Oh, I do karaoke now at Redbox, The Curve, no more marathon sessions, I'll gladly go back to my home to sleep! Yup, some things have changed but one of the things that hasn't is that I still like to wear black! It makes me look slimmer, an optical illusion of some sort. Hee hee....

Do you think dyslexic people have difficulty dancing to "Y.M.C.A."? ~ Dave Sokolowski

B.A.N.A.N.A.S

Another night of meeting. Aside from the heavy topics, there was one about improving our mental attitude. I found out why monkeys are a happy lot, it seems that eating bananas can make one happy apart from providing us with many other benefits. To start us off, the speaker brought a few bunches of bananas for us to eat after the meeting ended! I couldn't tell whether it worked on me cos I feel upbeat most of the time. I offered one to Soo and she said "It's okay, I'm happy enough". Standing arms akimbo, I asked her how can anyone have enough of happiness. If there is something that we can never have enough of, happiness would be it. Soo then ate the banana ;0)

http://www.nilludesign.com/img/editorial/monkey.jpg

Maybe the real reason why monkeys are happy is because they hear, see and speak no evil!

The three of us then headed for a late dinner in Bayou. I enjoy times like these as it allows us to get to know each other better. Usually, people would just turn up for meetings and off they go when it ends. So, it's more of a Hello and Goodbye session most of the time. Oh, we also get a chance to grow closer during our incentive trips. We'll be in planes, trains and automobiles, having meals, sightseeing together for almost a week. During times like these, we grow to like certain people and at the same time find out that we should avoid certain people too! Ha Ha... On trips like these, I usually dread one thing, I'm usually asked to walk up the aisle of the tour bus and belt out a tune to entertain the "troops". This year I will be ready with my iPod in hand as I have stored lyrics in it. Ahhh...The wonders of technology.

We sat in Bayou till they told us that we have to leave (we weren't the only ones there), not because we were being a nuisance but they were closing, just in case some of you were wondering why! I rushed home as I wanted to catch the repeat of American Idol. My fave is Elliott Yamin, he doesn't look like THE American Idol but he really has a good voice. So, I'm rooting for him. Looks aren't everything but of course Mr Simon Cowell begs to differ. Oh well, here's to us simple folks! Hear! Hear!

Those who can laugh without cause have either found the true meaning of happiness or have gone stark raving mad. ~ Norm Papernick

Brylcreem

During last night's teleconversation with Mrs Pitt, she told me that she cried reading my Guinness Stout post. You see, my dad is her dad too. We both talked about Dad and said that he did leave too early. That's why I'm posting about my dad again because I started recalling my younger days and the happy times with him.

The flat I used to stay in faced a lane and each evening, from the 5th floor, I would sit there and wait for him to come back. Just in case I missed him, he would whistle loudly and I would then run towards the balcony to wave at him. He would always have treats for us, buying the 2 litre A&W root beer (from the Pudu outlet which is no longer around) and of course on Tuesdays, we'll have our Coney Dogs. Once in a while, he brought back a box of Kit Kat or Kandos Crispies or Wrigley's chewing gum from the wholesale shop in Petaling Street. Once home, he would sit in his favourite chair, I still remember the patch of oil on the wall where he leaned his head against. That's because he used Brylcreem a lot! Ha ha.... Sitting in the chair, he would always play this trick where his eyes would be wide opened and he would pretend to stop breathing. Ha ha....come to think of it, that was a rather mean trick to play on a kid, wasn't it? Pretending to be dead. Ah, my dad, always a joker.

He was also very meticulous about the way he looked and dressed. Always making sure his hair had just the right amount of Brylcreem, that every strand was in place (indeed, that was his crowning glory and he took care of it well, he still had a full head of hair till his last day here). Shirt tucked, he would go thru the ritual of primping himself in front of the mirror. He loved wearing belts with big buckles, he was a big man. The whole ensemble did look nice on him. Hee hee......I used to sit there and just watch him go thru this routine time and time again and I will still be just as fascinated as I was seeing it for the first time.

Life is funny, till one really loses someone, we don't know how it actually feels like or begin to even fathom what has happened and how to deal with the loss. We feel sad and time will lessen the pain but it will never erase the memories that will forever live in our hearts.

It is foolish to tear one's hair in grief, as though sorrow would be made less by baldness. ~ Cicero