Hate getting sick

I monitor my health & it`s ups & downs. It`s nothing to be proud of as I seem to get flu or fever quite often. My determination to NOT skip work is somewhat thwarted by the fact that it takes quite an effort to drive to work every morning so with a fever, no matter how slight, it`s almost mission impossible....

Was on mc for half day on Monday & the full Tuesday....yuks.

Pan`s Labyrinth

After reading some good reviews on this show, I decided that this Spanish surprise warranted a viewing. So I called up one of my good movie buddies Yazid & we watched it at Summit last nite. The cineplex was amazingly cold. Brrrr.....the movie ? Not too bad actually. A little like Harry Porter I`m told ( coz I never watched any HP shows ) but more macarbe....I liked the storyline & special effects. Some parts were quite gruesome & it meritted the 18PL rating as kids would have screamed at the shooting/ killing scenes.

My rating out of 10 would be 7.5

I was surprised that the cineplex was almost full as the show was in Spanish & not heavily promoted.

Dvds.....

While taking my Sabahfriend out for dinner last week, we happened to swing by a pirated dvd shop in SS2. It had lotsa unusual & rare ( to me lah anyways ) dvds & movies, stuff you can`t get elsewhere i.e. opera, live musicals, documentaries. It wasn`t payday yet so I could only afford to get 2 dvds but Saturday last, I went back to get what I missed.

The Secret Life of plants has an episode whic focuses on c arnivorous plants. That`s why I got it. The other Dvd which I went for later is Live Aid 1985. I was just a kid then but still remember watching Madonna, Tina Turner etc performing live. Never thought I`d get to see it again.

A lunch treat

An old friend called up a day before my birthday to see if I was free for dinner. I wasn`t. So he swung around last Friday to take me out. He`s a hardworking lad, we go way back when we were still clerks in the bank & going for banking courses together.

Anyways, we went to have lunch at this cozy place tucked in a corner of Kg Pandan. Reasonable set lunch ( hey, money is hard earned ) & it was my choice for a treat as to me, it was the company & effort made by the friend rather than how much the meal costs.

We chatted about his recent change of status from single to married, how he`s trying to get a kid, cars, insurance ( a bit !), life in general. It was good. The next time I see him it`ll be about diapers, baby food, milk powder I guess. Mmmm.....

A BIG rat...........

Putting down rat traps did not help to catch that rodent. Having a dog which lives inside the house apparently did not deter it as well. Finally after seeing iot round around our kitchen for the past 3 weeks, I finally managed to clobber it to death last nite. It was more out of geram than anything else.

I read somewhere that the mere sight of a cat would actually freeze the blood of the rat & they would literally go limp. Last nite, this big rat also froze when it saw me with the long stick. I whacked it, and then some more. Yippeeee...no more funny smells from the kitchen.

This is the 2nd big rat i`ve whacked.....

The movie...........300

Pretty awesome movie that 300..........it was a simple story on bravery. The special effects were classy & the acting was commendable. What more could one ask for in paying rm9 ?

It is however on the other end of the scale compared to our local production Mukhsin. That movie was slow paced, dreamy, funny.....a very typical Yasmin Ahmad movie. If she ever makes

movies again for local release, it`s gotta be of a different genre` as I`m kinda too used to her usual fare already.

REM

According to the sleep scientists, to achieve good restful sleep, we have to reach the REM or `rapid eye movement` stage. At this point, the body & mind refreshes & recharges itself...

Last nite, I know I experienced it. Sleeping in a superbly spacious hotel bed helped a lot. The fact that it was raining outside & I could hear the pitter patter of rain drops also helped. The cool and super-dark room was perfect for sleep. I only slept for 5 hours or so but when I got up at 6 a.m., I was very well rested.

Lovely.

Gorgeous.

More plse.......

Staying with my Sabah pal for 3 days means my home pets might be neglected.

Chico my doggie will be wondering where I am & why I`m not back at nite. My Mum swears that he sits by the front door of the house the whole nite until morning waiting & listening for my car. He usually falls asleep from fatigue. His 10 year old body no longer possesses the fitness it had when it was younger. But the determination & love for its owner still remains. I admire this selfless trait. That`s the difference between a dog & a meow meow.

My fishes will be fed. They are fat enough to last a day or 2 without food anyways. My plants however could be in trouble as water is not something my parents will remember to pour into the pots.

That`s why I have to swing by the house tonite. To say Hi tio Chico, grab some office clothes & some other toiletries.

Zoom zoom zoom.....

Boulevard Hotel....

I`m once again staying at the boutique hotel Boulevard at Mid-Valley. A good friend from Sabah is in town for training & I am bunking with him for 3 days. It`s a very nice room & so much closer to the office so why not ? Anyways, i only get to meet him once a year so this is a good chance to do some catching up.....

We went for dinner at SS2 glutton square last nite. It was also pasar malam nite so we ate & ate quite a bit. There`s this pretty well-equipped pirated vcd/dvd shop there. You can find rare concert dvds ( Live Aid 1985) & musicals etc . I didn`t have much spare cash so I only bought David Attenborough`s Weird Plants documentary. It has an episode on Carnivorous plants. Wheeee....Can`t wait to watch it when I get home on Thursday

ribbons

A lovely gift from a close friend.....it was a nice surprise....all nicely wrapped up in ribbons & coloured see-thru paper....it was an unusual carnivorous plant from Australia. I haven`t taken any photos of it yet as its recuperating in a cool part of the garden.

Thx for the making the effort my fren, hopefully i`ll know what to get you come Sept 15...heheh.

Lovely pitcher

One of my best friends,Zan,has been converted into a pitcher / carnivorous plant fan like me. The `conversion` took about a month. Heheh.

Initially I was influenced by his slipper orchids so I spent about rm280 buying the dam plants & after 6 months of trying, none has flowered, 3 plants have withered & the rest are just surviving.

His new carnivorous plants however have flourished. Due to his better environment ( more sun, cooler at nite temperatures, more detailed care ), some of his plants actually grow bigger than mine. Happiness is sharing a hobby...

He sent me over this photo...telling me that his pitcher is more than 6 inches long already. Good for him.

A Christmas present 3 months later

I met up with my childhood kindergarden friend last Sat for brunch. Another 2 primary schoolmates joined us.

After the 3 hour session which included babytalk, owl attack, cars, being single, gossip about other schoolmates, re-unions, life in Beijing...........she passed me my Christmas present. I was supposed to get it from her months ago but never found time. She actually ordered the sunblock I wanted from USA....gosh, it was so nice of her. I had used it once in her place & mentioned that it was nice but was a lil` disappointed that we could not get it locally....

I`ve known her for more than 30 years & the bond is still strong as we are both single, independent adults with nothing more than friendship between us. She`s not interested in having kids & loves her single life. She teaches special kids how to read & also takes summer camps in USA. One of the coolest people I know. We`ve supported each other throughout the years.

Chico says Hi.........

Taking a pic of this little dog of mine is never an easy task. He moves like lightning, even at the age of 10 years.

Airplants

My lovely airplants are blooming.......this one is probably the most blooms in one plant for me. The other larger one has sprouted a baby without even flowering. Cool, coz it`s an expensive airplant. The adult one is almost 18 inches high & quite a showy plant.....Might have to wait for a while before it blooms though.

My first ALL RED

A good friend swung over with my newest pet last Saturday evening. I have been waiting for it for quite a while now & it`s finally here ! My all red venus flytrap. Quite rare but mostly un-appreciated by auntie gardeners all over Malaysia. Well, it IS after all a carnivorous plant without any glossy flowers....

The green portions are when the plant was in transit over to the nursery from overseas.

Love it, can`t wait to separate the babies.

The Eye in the sky

Some friends from JB swung by & asked me to jln-2 with them. Or in other words, be their driver for the day. Mmmm....anyways, we went hiking in our slippers ( not prepared for it ), visited the Eye, makan-2 at Ampang Point area, KLCC-ed..........doing a 12-hour shift from 11 a.m. onwards is pretty tiring. Now I know what tour guides go thru.....Fun though.

Being thankful

Looking back at year 2006......

I made some good friends. Single people who are easier to hang out with & understand the singles lifestyle & it`s peculiarities. I`m not the party type so it`s difficult to find stable folks who prefer a quiet dinner over some clubbing. One particualr good friend who stays in shah alam even started cultivating carnivorous plants like me & now we are serious plant buddies. This friend is also making the effort to celebrate my birthday with me this week.

Lost a fren or 2. But well, not saying this in spite but they were pretty hopeless & un-reliable & full of b*s in the 1st place. Especially that fren who plays golf. Yuks. Total fake.

I love the toyota RAV4 i bought. It`s holding up well despite its age. Toyota really knows how to make cars. I wonder why anyone would drive any other make. Heheh. I`m prepared to spend some moolah to repair whatever deterioration age has brought along.

I love the new varieties of carnivorous plants I managed to get during the year. It`s a surprise that Sg buloh has started bringing in quite a few new types from Holland & selling it at pretty reasonable prices.

I`m thankful for my cousins who despite their uncanny sense of humor will always be there for me & likewise me for them.

I`m thankful for the good movies I watched, which taught me a little more about life & how to live it to the fullest & yet still be aware of how fragile and precious it can be.

I`m thankful for the friend I thot I had lost but came back to me. I accepted the reasons the friend gave & we are now patching things up.

I am thankful for my pet dog Chico, which is probably the closest thing to actually having kids. To be loved so much by another creature is just awesome. It spends its day & nites just wondering where I am, when I`ll be home & how it can interact with me. It`s now 10 years old, the same age as my other love, the car. If you look into its eyes ( both have cataracts but they are not treatable due to its age ), you`ll see a pool of undivided love in its purest form.

Freebies

I come early to work nowadays, reaching at about 7:15.a.m. Otw to office after parkign the car, I will avail meself to a free copy of the Sun. Sometimes, I bump into folks there who come as early as I do. It`s weird but some of them actually look guilty taking the free paper. It`s that funny look on their faces....Haha.

As for me, I also do not like taking free things coz I believe that nothing in this world is actually 100% free except for salvation. But if it`s genuinely free ( like the Sun ) & without any strings attached, then I`m pretty ok.

Some folks in the office always ask for free trips, free T-shirts, free food....to me, that`s so embarrassing. We all work & earn a salary. If you can`t manage your money or have too many kids or bad habits i.e. smoking, gambling, women ( kids are not habits, i don`t mean it that way ) then you`ve gotta correct yourself instead of holding out your shameful paw & begging for freebies.

Having said that, i`m gonna read my free newspaper now.

Angpows.....

I finally opened all the angpow packets I got during CNY during the weekend. It amounted to almost rm200. Less than last year coz we were too lazy to do much visiting this year, despite the fabulous cool water thanks to the rain.

I spent it at Guardian`s, getting vitamins & sunblocks. Yesterday was Chap Goh Mei, the 15th day of CNY & the closing of it. What did I do ? Nothing relevant, just went to pasar malam & met up with friends.

That car shoppee with a lot branches.....

I bought a pair of mudguards from a car spare parts accessories outlet in Kelana Jaya ( their HQ ) 2 Fridays ago. They have quite a wide selection ( other shops got like 1 or 2 types, they have about 6 brands) & the prices were reasonable too. Anything from rm13.90 to rm59.90. I got the rm22.90 pair & scooted off as I had a date.

But I did have time to ask in their affiliated workshop how much it was to install the musguards. They told me, without blinking, rm60......what ?????

So I went online trying to figure out how to do it meself......I angled the thing & looked at it for awhile then decided it`s best I take it to a local workshop.

They charged me rm10. And fixed an imbedded nail in my back tyre ( which they missed 2 weeks back)

That`s how that accessories shop makes money. Sell things cheap but slaughterhouse folks when it comes to fixing it up.

The weekend.....

List of things to do :

Fix up my mudflaps for the car

Go fix a small cavity in my back tooth

Buy some cupboards at IKEA

Go look for a lounge set at the more affordable cinapek shops ( or Cavenzi , hate the quality there though )

Finish watching Blood & Diamond dvd

List of things probably done by Sunday nite :

None.........coz I`ll be bz going out tonite & tmrw nite. So will be sleeping late & waking up late & then sleeping-in in the a`noon