Malaysian Comedy

So many things have been happening in the news. Really, if you want to laugh at something on a daily basis, just read about what is happening in Malaysia. From sending effeminate boys (and their definition is apparently quite amazing, it includes boys who help do house chores!) to boot camp to "toughen them up", to offering a "FREE" email account to every Malaysian aged 18 and above (but Garmen agencies sending out emails to us will be charged RM0.50 per email. Quick calculation, say 17mil Malaysians x RM0.50 = RM8.5mil for every email that is sent to us. And where would this money come from? Taxpayers!).

Then there's the PM who on one day thanks the Chinese for playing a vital part in Malaysia's economy, and the next day says to the Chinese, "If you don't vote MCA in the next election, you will no longer be represented", failing to understand that it matters not what skin colour but the heart and intentions beneath who we want to represent us.

Then there's our dear Deputy PM who is clearly trying to claim his stake and shaking the very mantra our PM is advocating. Not 1Malaysia but 1Melayu or 1Bumi, backing an extremist idiot who claims to be doing all this in the name of his religion.

Thunderstorm Destruction!

I don't know if this is true but I feel as though thunderstorms in PJ are really more severe than most parts of Malaysia. The last couple of days, we've seen terrifying thunderstorms in the evening. And it has brought much damage to my home.

Firstly, after the first time my modem was fried from a thunderstorm months ago, I purchased a surge protector to avoid another instance. The guy at the shop said, "This one guarantee wan... sure can tahan the lighting wan..." so I believed him. Every time there was a thunderstorm, I would smirk and feel that my modem is well protected. Alas, I was wrong. Not only my modem was fried, my house phone was also fried! Thank goodness my modem card on my computer was ok, unlike the last time.

Secondly, since Telekom changed my modem, my Airport Express wouldn't work and I had to re-connect it! After my initial drama of trying to fix it up in almost a month, I must say I'm glad I blogged about it so I just followed the steps again and *fingers crossed* my Airport Express is connected again! Yay!

Thirdly, my guaranteed lifetime warranty surge protector is kaput. So I'll need to go to the shop and lay my claim on it. Thing is, only the surge protector is guaranteed. If my entire computer had fried, I doubt if I would get any warranty for that!

Lastly, the extended part of my kitchen ceiling became flooded. There's a massive leak somewhere which drips into the guest room downstairs. We saw a puddle months ago and wondered where it came from. Today, not only did it leak but it also destroyed the paint and left water streaks all over my new kitchen ceiling. :( My contractor is coming tomorrow.

Emo

There's this old man in my neighbourhood who would take a walk twice a day with his old dog and they would walk companionably around the area. The man would pause as the dog sniffs out a corners, sits down to scratch himself while the dog never wanders far from his master. If the master would walk another direction, the dog simply catches up with him to walk ahead once more. Warms my heart whenever I see them.


I'm just being emo.

Bags of Happiness

Glitz and Glamour. For the last two nights, I was busy with work as we were the official bank for the Pavilion Pit Stop Fashion Shows featuring Raoul and Vertu, Canali and Tumi (brands under the Valiram Group). 

I only brought my camera for the first night after which I decided it was still too heavy for me to carry around since I was running around getting things organized. So here are just two photos of the first night with Raoul:

This is Syafinaz, a local singer with a powerful voice as the performer for the evening. Then there was the fashion show.

There was a totally eye-catching backdrop for this, which is made of water. Technology from Korea. Amazing, right? I was so mesmerized by it that the models became the background. 

Anyway, after working 3 nights in a row (first night was for rehearsals until past midnight), I am completely wiped out, feet throbbing and just longing to go home and put my feet up. But just to share with you 3 little bags of happiness:

Starting from the bottom:
Bag 1: I created the bag. Not that it's anything fantastic but quite a lot of people commented how nice it looked. :)
Bag 2: This was a little surprise gift right after tonight's event. Hehehehe... I'm still grinning.
Bag 3: I wanted to con shu eumura to do my make up tonight but the lady just did a very quick basic one for me as I wasn't willing to spend any more money for a full make up do. I bought some stuff from them anyway.  


Aaah... little bags of happiness that made all the effort worthwhile!

News Today

I can't help it but to blog about today's nation headlines. Too funny!

Firstly, there's this minister who recently said in Parliament:
“Some women drivers drive slowly and seem oblivious to traffic. When you honk at them, they get agitated with some even showing hand gestures to other drivers”

Obviously, this doesn't go down well and thereafter there were many criticisms on his statement. Today, he complains he is being "sexually harassed".

Mind you, this is the same polygamous guy who once told a female opposition who was questioning about a leaking roof of the Parliament building, "Mana ada bocor? Batu Gajah pun bocor tiap-tiap bulan juga (Where is the leak? The Batu Gajah MP leaks every month too.)”

Next, one of the trio behind the sensational media event held at Carcosa Seri Negara (where Queen Elizabeth once stayed) to show members of the media a sex tape of a man resembling Anwar Ibrahim and a prostitute. They had threatened Anwar and his wife to immediately resign from politics "otherwise, we will make the video public". Now, the trio are not exactly exemplary either, each with records (I can't remember what they are) but those cases were dropped. *what a surprise!*

So what does he do? He warns, "Back off, or I'll sue for defamation". Never mind your blackmail, sir. He further adds, “I would like to remind bloggers to not attack me or delve on my past,” he said. Riight... so this video was also taken in the past, shall we not delve in the past?

And finally, the ban of this poco-poco dance. The Mufti of Perak decreed it to be "haram" or illegal from religious views as it was a Christian dance. And why is it a Christian dance, by the way? Apparently it is something like a square dance and the dancers move in the shape of a cross.

Here's a video which I found on poco-poco. It looks like fun!


If we follow that reckoning of Cross = Christianity, we now have a dilemma. Why?

1. The letter "t" forms a cross *gasp*
2. We have many "crossroads" *double gasp*
3. Our phone numbers on our mobiles start with a "+" *faints*

Real hilarious news! My Dad teaches the senior citizens in my church some line dancing every week. He immediately said he was going to find out what this poco-poco dance was to teach them, since it's so Christian!

Mum's Hoard

Not sure if I've blogged about this before about my Mum's habit of hoarding. My friends declare in the event of war, they will come to my parents place to stay because she has almost everything.

The one I tease her most about is her fridges. Actually, it's two large fridges and a standing freezer. They are all packed to the point that when you open the door, things tend to fall out. And there's only my Dad and Mum in the house, although she cooks dinner for me and KS on weekdays.

Then there's the toilet rolls. When they first shifted from Alor Setar to PJ, the stack of toilet rolls almost reached my height (times that with 10 rolls per pack). Some were yellowing with age. But it's better now. She has less than 10 packs now, split between upstairs and downstairs so it gives the impression that it's lesser now.

Cleaning liquids. She has an entire cupboard full of liquid floor cleaners, dish detergents, tile cleaners... she gave one to Grace last year to bring back to US and when Grace opened it, it had already somewhat spoilt from being kept too long. Unfortunately, she practices First In Last Out for this one.

Ribbons. Yup. I made some cakes some time back and wanted to have some ribbons to tie the boxes for easier carrying. Since Mum was out grocery shopping, I called to ask her to get some for me. She said, "I have" and I discovered, she had a whole plastic bag full of ribbons in various colours, sizes and materials.

I really don't need to buy anything. Need pots? She has extra. Need cabin sized trolley bags? Need Golden Churn butter in a tin (the expensive ones)? She had 6 in her cupboard about to expire. Need peanut butter? She has 2 large unopened bottles about to expire, 1 which just expired.

Today, I was looking for some pudding bowls to bake something this weekend. I went to the shop, saw one that would suit my need but thought I didn't want to buy 8 pieces only to have made this pudding once and never use them again. I went home for dinner and looked into her cupboard and found... 6.

She's so funny! But she did defend herself saying that when she was young and really poor, she had this habit of storing things out of fear of not having enough later on. Completely understandable. I'm just glad that she's so well stocked and that I'm nearby enough :) 

My friend is deciding to dig a tunnel from her house to my parents place now for easier access in case of zombie attacks.  

Facial!

The one and only time I ever had a facial was in 2004, when my good friend was about to get married and she went for a facial. I decided to join her but can't remember the experience except for the fact that the location was too far for me and the lady spoke only Chinese.

So, when a facial chain opened right outside my parents house last year, it was only a matter of time before I tried it out. RM38 for a 2.5 hour facial for first timers, what's not to try? Plus, they do not have any packages like the other facials have and will insist you sign up for courses, making you commit to over RM2,000 worth of future facials.

My friend tried it out and said they were good and comparable to the other facials she have tried. Since her next appointment was coming up and it so happened that Jan was back from Singapore, we decided to give it a try.

Herbaline turned an old bungalow lot into a beautiful spa. I was impressed from the time I walked in. There's a guy in a smart uniform at the entrance making sure you get to and fro your car safely, sheltering you when it rains, the sheltered pond you have to walk across to get into the crisp white reception hall. Before entering the individual rooms, we were seated at sinks at floor level with sea-salted warm water to scrub our feet.

The first part of the facial was good, double cleansing followed by a steam blower, which made my face numb after a short while. THEN. The extractions started. OMG. My tears kept flowing as the beautician pressed, squeezed and poked. My nose was moulded into shapes I never knew it could, just to get a blackhead out. Thank goodness I only had two major pimples because she attempted to extract every drop of blood from them.

After that was the mask, which was supposedly soothing but I was still in pain. I also got her to remove some tiny bumps on my skin which she said were warts. I have warts! And it's hereditary! Dad confirmed he has some too, so Grace and Ron, see if you have warts on your faces too.

All in all, my face was fine the next day except for the residue scars of my pimples. But after four days, most of it is gone and now my face feels smooth. I still need to go back to finish up my wart treatment if I want to but I'm not too sure about the extraction bit. Others say this is normal. No pain, no gain?

Beautiful Japan

It's now the aftermath of the major catatrophies that hit Japan. The social networks have been abuzz with pictures of the devastations, the frequent updates on the nuclear plant explosions, the unnecessary hoaxes telling people to avoid the rain even here in Malaysia because it has radiation... *rolls eyes*

However, today is the first time I am hearing about the strength of her people, the beauty of a civilized nation that none can surpass. No looting of shops, entire nations switching off unnecessary lights to conserve enegery so that it can be channeled to where it's needed most, people picking up fallen goods to place it back on the shelves and then queuing up quietly to pay for their purchases, no overbuying so that others can get what they need, people giving up buying booze or other wants so that they can donate the money instead. The list goes on.

My heart is filled with admiration for the people of Japan. What a great nation! So inspiring! Besides continuing to pray for Japan, I shall now support Japanese products as much as I can. I do not have faith in all the fund collections that is going on in Malaysia because I know the 2004 tsunami funds never did reach the victims until today.

Anyway, another silver lining story, I heard over the radio weeks ago that they found documents from the founding fathers of Christchurch which were hidden somewhere but revealed when it cracked open from the quake.

Tanjong Jara Resort

A colleague forwarded me this special deal from a travel agency and KS and I decided to just take the package to Tanjong Jara Resort (TJR) since it included flights and airport transfers. We didn't have the time to book flights, to decide which place to go, research where to eat etc so this package was affordable and all-in.

TJR is located about an hour's drive south from Kuala Terengganu. They are owned by the YTL Group who also operate the Pangkor Laut Resort. This is the only state left which I have yet to visit so it was a great opportunity to see the views as we made our way there. 

It was low season so there weren't many people about, which was great as we didn't have to wait to use the facilities. The staff greeted us by name, were extremely friendly even the gardeners!

Here's some pictures to show off the place:

We had to climb this wooden stairs to get to our room 

Walking into our room, we were greeted by the cool air cond AND soft classical music. VERY nice touch. Plus, even though we arrived at 10am, they had the room ready for us. 

Our room.

The bathroom

We had our lunch and then explored the whole resort:

I believe you can request to have a meal by the beach

Sofa to relax by the beach at night.

This was our view during our lunches, facing the sea.

One of the day beds beside the beach. We hung out here after our dinners just enjoying the sea breeze.

We went exploring a little under the blazing sun.

Another lunch view

The family infinity pool.

KS playing congkak for the first time. You can tell who's winning.

And the food! Oh my! We had fantastic meals here and really spoilt ourselves silly. 

I had this strange ice cream combination, wasabi vanilla ice cream. It had a sting with every spoonful. I'm not quite sure if I like it but it was certainly different!

One of the most memorable meals. Chinese meal and the fish was SO good as was the four angled bean dish. Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

Their famous chocolate lava cake with it's melting centre.

We told the chef we were celebrating our anniversary and she gave us an anniversary cake alongside our desserts. 

This was on the second night when they found out we were celebrating our anniversary. We took a stroll along the beach and returned to our room a couple of hours later to find this:

It was an elephant made of face towels and a personalized note written on a leaf

The tub was filled with hot water with scattered petals and candles lit.

Even our pillow case was changed to this embroidered one that said "Happy Anniversary".

So we decided to get a bit creative and thanked them like this.

Sigh. It was really a great relaxing getaway. The staff were amazingly well trained, great food, great views. Here's KS blog post on the trip too. 

Next trip we'll probably eye Pangkor Laut Resort. 

Boobie Cake!

I was talking to my colleague about baking a cake for the boss since his birthday was aproaching. We were thinking of a simple cake until another colleague piped in and said, "He said he wanted a boobie cake!". My colleague and I looked at each other and decided to take up the challenge.

So I baked the butter cake in two bowls and passed it to my colleague to do her decorating magic.

Here's what it looked like: