Selamat Hari Raya.....

I hurried over to KLCC for lunch with a friend yesterday. Traffic was good so I arrived early. Took this shot from 4th floor. It`s so festive now. A lot of my friends are already back in their hometowns. For those about to travel, drive safely & have a swell time. An early Selamat Hari Raya wish from me. Maaf zahir batin. Muah muah muah.....

Island or highland holiday ?

This was the vessel which brought us over to Pangkor when I went there for a trip. I took this photo coz it reminded me of how peaceful looking it can be despite all hell breaking loose around the boat. The jetty was actually full of people & noise but this shot tells a different story. Peaceful eh ? I`m not so much into island holidays nowadays, prefer the cool romantic surroundings of the highlands....my fav place ? Camerons of course. Hope to go there in Dec 2005 with some friends. bb: i know u like the beach.
popgum: i think u like beach jugak with mebbe a golf course?
pu3: mmm, u like Camerons jugak kan ?

Manuka honey......

I just got addicted to this lozenges last nite. It`s made in New Zealand ( anything foreign especially from my alleged motherland UK, is always interesting & worth a try! ) . My aunt first got it from a health shop at Bangsar. Retails for rm14.90 ( 25 individually wrapped sweets ). It soothes throats sore from lengthy conversations like it`s heaven-sent. Somehow, it manages to calm frayed nerves as well. It`s my little miracle in a bottle.

My other food addictions:

1. Tapai ubi
2. Green tea frappucino from Starbucks
3. Chocolate Banana cake from Secret Recipe
4. Ikea`s chocolate bar ( yellow wrapping, very cheap )
5. Most of the biscuits at Marks & Spencers
6. Acar buah ( got stock in the fridge to last me another week )
7. Nasi briyani gam with chicken

Mmmmm...i got a friend who`s got a very close relationship with coffee, caramel & cheese. another one likes dates ( oops, that`s me again). ok lah, another friend suka makan fresh sea coconut.

what are your food addictions / cravings ? do tell.....

Chicken soup for the soul - a letter to warm hearts

My parents used to babysit Louise from the time she was 2 months old until she turned 6. She then had a little brother & her legal-eagle Mum found it cheaper to just hire a maid. Tearfully, she left us. Both sides cried. That was a few months ago. For her birthday last week, y`now what was her birthday wish ? To spend a day with my parents. Awwww...and when she said her bye-byes, she snucked in a note between the living area cupboard.

I need a tissue plse....

Cats & dogs.....

The persistent rain washed away my plans to go CD hunting at my fav pasar malam @ Sri Petaling. I`m not sure if there`s gonna be any nite market next week as it`s gonna be a long stretch of holidays then. I need my music fix. What to do eh ? Luckily, I managed to buy Jamal Abdillah`s Aku Penghibur cd & Peterpan`s `untuk sahabat peterpan` vcd last weekend. By next week, I should be able to sing 'Seroja' flawlessly. Go ahead, test me out. Hee hee.

I used to like walking in the rain to test my immunity system. If tak kena flu after that, I`ll be pleased. Nowadays, I find the rain pesky. A good friend HATES having to go out in the rain. Getting the shoes wet & having a drippy umbrella in the car are all No-no`s. Eh, what happens if it rains halfway while you are playing golf ? Jawab jawab. :o)

Songs about rain I can relate to :
1. Rainy Days & Mondays ( The Carpenters )
2. Raindrops keep falling on my head ( dunno who sang it but it`s from an old Robert Redford movie)
3. Rain ( Madonna)

What are your fav rain songs ? ( 'Rain rain go away' is NOT a song, it`s a chant )

A rough day.....

Had to go for an unpleasant inquiry/ meeting today in town. Firstly, we were made to wait for an hour for the customer to arrive. Then it was more unpleasantries. How rough was it ? The texture of the chair I was sitting on in the waiting area would kinda give you a `rough` idea. Ouch. Anyway, we returned to office with long faces & dour moods. Mine only lasted for a bit. Someone else went around biting off heads for a bit. Hee hee. I`m off to the pasar malam to get some err, pirated cds. Am eye-ing for Maroon 5`s unplugged cd. Hope I don`t end up getting some silly dvds instead. Focus focus & not hocus pocus...

Springtime is here........

These are 2 of my fav flowers currently blooming in my garden. My paling fav is the white daisy. I painstakingly `stole` the seeds from Fraser`s Hill. It grows wild there & the cold climate in Fraser`s makes the plant bloom in 2 colours, white & purple. Delicately gorgeous. Over here in hot KL, it`s only white. The size is a delicate 5 cts coin. Dainty it is.

Which looks better you think ?

Welcome......

For those of you who have always liked to look under things, peer into funnels, peek thru holes in wooden fences....here`s a little macarbe` view of what`s inside a pitcher plants` cup. It`s actually full of dead ants being processed for food. Yuks or yumee. It depends.....this one is very good at trapping ants. Impressive yah ? In certain parts of the world ( err, Sarawak i think ), the orang asli actually still uses the pitcher cups for cooking rice & water storage.

Gooseberries anyone ?

I`m kinda feeling proud of meself. Bought a pack of South African gooseberries about 4 months ago & after some reading up, decided that I should try to grow them. I had doubts that the seeds would germinate, and even if they did, they would most probably be genetically altered not to bear fruits. But y`know what.......fruits have appeared ! Mmmm...can`t wait to harvest my first batch of gooseberries. Btw, the fruit is like a cherry except it`s orange in colour and is smooth in texture. It`s sweet inside & full of tiny seeds. A paper-like casing protects it and will turn into a brownish-hue when the fruit ripens.

Everyone`s gorn` home

It is so peaceful at the office now. I`m staying back to finish some work and the utter silence is making me a bit sleepy. Our office aircon goes off at 6 p.m. and it gets a bit suffocative after that.

The weekend is near & I have 1 buka puasa invite & a dvd-watching session with friends ( re-watching Steel Magnolias..i know, chick flick ) to keep me occupied. The rest of my time will be spent doing household chores. My fav chore ? Putting laundry into the washing machine & wa-laa, 30 minutes later, clean awesome smelling clothes appear ! ...........

i think my workmate Ms E is somewhere behind there doing work coz i hear some noises.....eeks. no one there. me scooting off now.

Memories

Last weekend as I was put under 'house arrest' by the persistent rain, i decided to spring clean my room.......i re-organised my cds collection, cleared up my paperwork , filed my credit bills...and in the midst of that, stumbled upon this. A big uh oh. It`s my first date with my ex.....mmmmmm. Brings back a lot of good memories. I choose not to remember how it ended. To me, we`ll always be friends no matter what happened. We were kindred spirits. What was not spoken was felt. What was spoken was clearly understood. It`s funny how you sometimes know in a matter of minutes, whether a person is the rite one. Orkid & Jason in my fav M`sian movie 'Sepet' took a minute. Me ? I knew within the first 5 minutes of meeting up. It was good while it lasted. Some regrets but nothing major.....if you can`t make out the date on the movie ticket, it `s 13.11.2004. The movie was `The Incredibles`. Not sure if i should throw or keep it ? Mmmm......

*Btw, you can click on the pic if u want to see an enlarged version for clarity* No need to squint squint lorrr......

A storm`s coming.......

Sometimes we can see trouble brewing & coming our way like these storm clouds....This was taken from my office tower on a cold stormy evening. Traffic was bad & I had to stay back. The weather kinda messed with my mind then. You see that lil` bit of sunshine trying to peek thru on the bottom right ? That`s what I can relate to. The storm ? Nah, it`s just temporary & passing. It`s the sunshine that is permanent in my life.

A little bit of luxury

This is my fav facial masque. It looks a bit scruffy coz err....i`ve made it that way from usage. Anyways, it`s got primrose & some other soothing smelling stuff. Costs rm115 per jar. If you look at the lable, I`m supposed to use it every other day ( coz I`ve got oily skin y`see ) . What else am I supposed to do in life i wonder ? Here are some things I can think of :

1. Go to work
2. Maintain a healthy attitude
3. Don`t eat too much rubbish ( y`know what i mean )
4. Be nice to people ( this is difficult coz it goes against my personality )

Things that I want to do :

1. Go for a lovely holiday in Camerons
2. Fall in love with the right person ( I can wait tho` )
3. Maintain my friendships & mebbe make new good stable ones
4. Get a new hobby ( thinking about golf, naw.....scared of the sun )
5. Make my life more simple ( yeah , like stop buying semi-luxury items like Aesop )

Had any good dates lately ?

These are great dates.....It`s Mabroom dates which I got from Carrefour. Costs rm13.50 for 250 gms. A bit pricey compared to normal ones but it`s good. R-e-a-l-l-y. I started becoming addicted to dates after breaking fast with a good friend on Thursday nite. I tend to like dates which are not sticky to the touch & not too artificially sweet. Same rules apply to dating people. Ahem. Thot I`d just swing that in. Hee hee.

Anyone tried the dates which cost a few hundred for a kg ? I wonder how it tastes like. Or perhaps some other brands which meet my requirements ?

Buka puasa

This was the lovely place I went to while accompanying a good friend to break fast. I prefer this type of environment rather than an expensive place ie KLCC which lacks berbuka puasa atmosphere. It was enjoyable for me as I do not get the chance often to share in my Muslim friends` religion-related activity. The Azan signified that it was time for break fast at 7:03p.m. & we started with some buah kurma first. The food came shortly. Then the rain. And some more rain. Hee hee. Soon the attap roof started leaking & after moving our table twice, we moved ourselves altogether to another `drier` table. With a smile, my friend said that I have now experienced how his life was when he stayed in a kampung house in his younger days. To me, kailan ikan masin, tomyam, sotong goreng kari & ayam masak merah never tasted better. :o) Serious.

Post-Haven mag photographer News

Wah....I`m so impressed. At 9:30 a.m. sharp, the photographer assigned to shoot garden pictures at my humble home arrived. Encik Ghani is a man with 21 years of photography experience under his belt. And to think, I was actually planning to instruct him on some shots initially. I say, shy lah after meeting him in person. He spent 2 hours scrutinizing the plants. Somehow with his Nikon Digital SLR camera, he managed to make my carnivorous plants look more vicious & frightening than they really are. Wah, I dunno whether to be in awe of him or to be scared of my carnivorous plants or mebbe both. Anyways, it`s for the Haven magazine & will be out in their December 2005 issue.

This was the weather condition which he shot in.....he said it was `p-e-r-f-e-c-t` for close up shots of my plants. I kept my umbrella nearby just in case. Hee hee.

I`m gonna be famous ! Naw.......

Took a day off today to unwind & relax. Did exactly that. Went for my morning swim at Kelana pool. If not for the other 3 chaps there, I would have had the pool all to myself. Bah.

After cleaning off all the chlorine from my hair & body, I went for a haircut at my fav salon at Carrefour, Subang Jaya. U basically pay a machine rm15, get a ticket & wait for your turn. It was all over in 20 minutes. I felt like a new man. Less hair means less drag, more aerodynamic. Hee hee.

Tried to buy tickets for tmrw`s Transporter 2 movie at IOI Mall. I was told with a shrug that they don`t sell tmrw`s shows` tickets today. Eh ? Darn`.....so to make my trip there worthwhile, i walked around. Peterpan`s new cd is a movie soundtrack. Just like Glen`s. Apa niii.....couldn`t decide whether to get it or not so just walked around some more. And some more.....

Had to tidy up the garden coz a photographer from the Haven magazine is coming tmrw morning to snap some photos. Ahem. I`m gonna be famous. Ok, gotta turn in early so that I won`t look like a zombie for tmrw`s photo session. How to pose naturally ? haha...no such thing i think.

Fav song at the moment : You`re beautiful- James Blunt

No pics post....

G`day to all. i`ll try to use my writing skills to thrill & bedazzle you folks today. Sounds like a lame excuse coz i ain`t got pics to show rite ? it`s not like that.....r-e-a-l-l-y.

Last nite, I met up with a long lost workmate who funnily enuff became a friend after 3 hours of chatting and watching a movie together. It turns out that we had more in common that we initially thot. It`s a funny transition when a workmate becomes a friend. I don`t how or why it happened but it`s that good weird feeling that you get when after chatting with someone for a while, you feel as if you`ve known them for a lifetime. Ah, that`s when it happens for me. The movie we watched ? Errr, our conversations easily eclipsed it. I wonder...does the opposite ever happen...a friend becomes a workmate ? It`ll be a sore workmate if that happens I guess.

In the midst of watching the movie at 11:18 p.m., I received an sms from a friend I thot I had lost. We had some issues and exchanged some angry words. I blame myself for it. It sounded like I have been forgiven.I was so glad. The sms was short but heartwarming. It went like this : ‘remember that there will always be someone who remembers you every day with or without messages! Gud nite !’ It was indeed a gud nite for me `Sh`….hope we`ll get to meet up again soon.


Joke : why does Dolly Parton have small feet ? Coz nothing can grow in the dark. Hee hee.

A little angel is born

We visited our colleague`s newborn baby yesterday at Pusat Rawatan Islam. The baby was a dainty little mini human being who brought smiles all around the room. How is it that babies are capable of weaving a magical spell on us adults ? Congrats CT & we wish you the best. CT says that she has her Dad`s mouth & the Mum`s nose. Other body parts not yet identified and matched.

Sticky issues

Sometimes we get ourselves caught in a sticky situation. Sometimes it`s difficult to unravel ourselves from it & in trying to do so, we weave ourselves in a tighter spot. I`m single now. A bit tired & jaded from being in relationships. Some day mebbe I`ll try again. But right now, I`ll live my life as a single entity. Alone but not lonely. thx 'S' for your company for lunch. thanks 'J', 'Izz','Z',`Y`, etc for your time during weekends & movie sessions. I miss `Sh`....made 3 silly mistakes early in our friendship and it looks like it`s beyond repair. A bit too early i know but i would like to minta maaf zahir batin from `Mz` as well from Penang. It`s complicated. We make mistakes, we say things in anger, things we don`t mean....hopefully we get forgiven. If not now, then mebbe eventually. I sincerely hope & pray.

Btw, those small black dots on the leaf are dead insects being digested by my pet plant. I`m a sick guy with a macarbe sense of humor. Tell me something I don`t already know plse.

Goodbye farewell

My relationship with this bottle of vanilla perfume is coming to an end soon. Thank you for making me smell like a bakery for the past 4 months. I`ve loved the smell of freshly-mowed grass & vanilla since i was a kid so when BodyShop come out with this perfume, I was elated & got my 1st bottle from their outlet in Takeshimaya SC S`pore. When can I expect to buy the freshly-mowed grass scent ? :o)

Btw, any nice new perfumes in the market ? my current likes are Clinique happy, Davidoff Cool Water, Eternity CK.

My burst of sunshine....

This is my fav daisies...attempts to properly identify them ( their scientific name ) came to zilch. So I just call them my `burst of sunshine`. Looking at the colour of the flowers is an instant pick-me-up. They grow up to 7 feet in height and last for about 2 months. So that`s like 60 days of continuous sunshine for me, day & nite. Need a lil` sunshine in your life ? Nah, h-er-e you go.....have some of mine !

Footnote: Someone from the office said my postings had a melancholic feel...so today`s more `upbeat` posting is for you Ms E.K.

Crossing bridges

Life is full of decisions and crossings. Do this. Do that. Stop. Go. Don`t. Mebbe. I wish there was a signboard for all the bridges we have to cross in our lifes. Life would be much easier...but mebbe a little more boring & predictable ?

Btw....the photo is from Bukit Jalil park on a deserted week day morning. And yes, the pond`s colour IS brown.....and full of catfishes.

Joke: Liqour ? What ??? I don`t even know her ! ( U geddit ? )

Aaaaaa...open up plse

This is one of my carnivorous plants taking a big yawn while waiting for its victims. I wonder how many of us are feeling the same way today...bored with life, feeling like a big yawn, wanting to eat insects ? haha...mebbe not. Btw, it`s a Sarracenia Minor...