vote earth!

wah... suddenly my blog is filled with the earth hour banners and logos! haha, just taking my cue from auntyjo!

anyway, i placed an order for the earth hour 2009 t-shirt last week, and it arrived yesterday! i was supposed to get it last week, but the organisers received so many orders that they just couldn't make it on time. and the wwf ppl were bothered to call me up to explain abt the delay... so nice and considerate of them!

front view...

back view... "see your world in a whole new light"

well, it's a good thing that they're getting so many orders, coz it means more ppl are supporting the cause! i think this year's earth hour malaysia will be a much a successful campaign compared to last year's. i think it really was due to ignorance rather than indifference, as the writer had hoped, coz i've not heard abt this thing last year. but this year, nearly everyone has some inkling of what it's all abt.

the other day in a meeting, the bossbossboss was even talking abt pledging to switched off at our hotels and resort. but sadly in the end, it was deemed undoable, because we talked abt it too late. these kinda things need to be planned way in advance... things like informing our guests, planning an activity for guests so that they would not feel bored sitting in their darkened room without tv, lights and air-cond for one whole hour, making sure no one gets trapped in the lifts, making sure there're enough food, safety measures, etc etc... hopefully we'll be more prepared for earth hour 2010!

neeways, here are my personal efforts in minimising my carbon footprints on this earth:

1) my housemates probably think me a miser, because whenever someone accidentally left the lights on throughout the whole night or forgot to switch off their lights when they go out, i'd sure to be the one to point it out to them! then they'll try to placate me by promising to foot a bigger share of the electricity bill... but even though i'll talk abt the skyrocketing electric bill, IT'S NOT ENTIRELY ABOUT THE MONEY! there's also the wasting unnecessarily and the effects on global warming...

2) i'm paying more attention to all my switches... to make sure whatever i switch on are switched off after use.

3) i've been having this habit of pressing the fridge door with my fingers everytime i walk pass it (to make sure it is shut properly) since i found it to be slightly ajar sometime last year. i think it's safe to say that most people, after they've taken out/put something into the fridge, would just push the door shut and walk away, without really checking to see if it has shut properly. maybe the fridge was too full and the door has bounced back out by something in there. so even though the fridge door may look closed, if the side rubber (is that what it's called?) did not stick, air can and will escape and that will cause higher energy consumption.

4) i try not to accept plastic bags whenever possible... but this really needs a big conscious effort because it's just so natural to receive something you've bought in a plastic bag! and i kept forgetting abt my 'yellow foldable bag' given to me by M in my backpack, put in there for the purpose of carrying my shopping in.

5) i try to separate out the recycleables from my rubbish bin. i rinse out aluminium cans and plastic water bottles at home and i reuse the A4 papers when printing in the office. i also have a special tray for papers that has been used both sides, so that i can pass it to the cleaning kakak when it's full (coz i know they sell them for extra income).

6) i always save up all the used envelopes (paper and plastic ones alike) i receive, and reuse them whenever possible, especially when the document is to be passed on by hand.

well, these are just a few of the things i can think of for now. but while i'm consciously trying to minimise my role in damaging ole mother earth, i know what i've done and am doing are nothing to shout about. more effort should be put in! i'll try harder, i promise! :)

read also:
1) earth hour malaysia - it's as simple as a flick of the switch!

the new look

well, 2 weekends ago, i went to cut my hair... so here's how i look now:


why cut hair??? well, the standard answer i gave everyone (esp ppl in my company) is, "aiya, cut cost lar. trying to save on shampoo!" this is due to the recent "proactive-measure-in-the-weakening-economic-climate" implemented by my company early this month, which truth be told, really pisses me off to undescribable levels!

anyway, i'm NOT gonna go into that. this post is abt my new hairstyle, ok? so... where were we? oh yeah, why wanna cut hair? hmm... good question. i guess the answer would be: "just for the sheer heck of it lar!"

I Feel Okay Tag!

my quote: (money) - "Money is not everything... BUT it's definitely something!"
~ stargal (something i blurted out once while talking to the brother, and loved it since!)

Feel okay? Well you should be! You’ll definitely be okay if you’re going to be a part of this meme, be okay if you are about to have a chance to increase your Technorati and Google Pagerank!



1. Make others feel good: share your favorite, self made, or any quotes as you pass on this meme with the image below.

2. Make sure to come back – HERE - (ifeelokay.com) to get the master list and leave a comment that you’ve made yourself a part of this meme. This would ensure that you’ve been added to masters list.

3. Your favorites, self made, or any quotes that you shared are collected and will be linked back to your site as its source, this would give you much benefit. Put a category before your quote. (ex. Inspirational, happiness, love, sweet, time, motivational, friendship, and others), much better if you relate the quote on your blog. Ex. Fashion Blog - quotes about beauty; Personal Blog - quotes about success, life, inspirational and many more. It’s your choice.

4. Only one quote and category per blog please, make sure to tag as many bloggers possible. Please update your contributor's list more often. May we achieve thousands of quotes from different bloggers around the world. Let the fun begin. Be a part of a great collection of quotes from different bloggers around the world!!!

(1) BeautyTips
(2) EmjeiSays
(3) Techmobiz
(4) BlackNickel
(5) ifeelokay
(6) iAM-MAi
(7) NeuroPatch
(8) Express4Free
(9) Club101
(10) Earn4aLiving
(11) Solo-Flight
(12) My Touch of Heaven
(13) BigMoneyList
(14) Momhood Moments
(15) Business Mars
(16) Within Small Bites
(17) Onabentofrenzy
(18) Emily's Buzy World
(19) Pieces of Me
(20) Your blog here! :)

View the complete list of Quotes by bloggers around the world -- HERE
* End copy here

biow, u've been tag!

The Commonly Confused Words Test...

saw this quiz at auntyjo's... so just gave it a try lar...

Your result for The Commonly Confused Words Test...

English Genius

You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 87% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

Compared to other takers

• 54/100 You scored 100% on Beginner, higher than 54% of your peers.
• 34/100 You scored 100% on Intermediate, higher than 34% of your peers.
• 84/100 You scored 100% on Advanced, higher than 84% of your peers.
• 57/100 You scored 87% on Expert, higher than 57% of your peers.

Take The Commonly Confused Words Test at HelloQuizzy

a hitchhiker's guide to...

somehow, this memory suddenly popped into my head while on the way to work this morning...

during our uni days, few of us had any mode of transportation save our own two legs as the reliability of our uni bus service and the public transport leaves a lot to be desired. and our faculty was so far away from our college! most days, we'd walk back to our college after classes and even with all the short-cuts, it still took us about 20 - 30 min! no wonder we were all so slim then! hehe...

however, on some days, especially in the evening and we were all so tired out from a whole day of classes, some of us would stand at the side of the main road in front of our faculty to hitchhike! we'd just put on our 'first year muka kesian' face and stick our thumbs out at any passing car... hehehe... and abt 98% of the time, we'd get a ride either back to our college or to the main complex just opposite our college.

and it was kinda fun, actually! of course, we always do it in groups. never alone. and i think what we were doing was relatively safe coz after all, most of the ppl driving inside the campus would be students and lecturers. as our faculty is situated on the road on which at the end of it is the engineering faculty, we get lots of engineering seniors picking us up. heheh... :P and if the timing was right, we'd even get repeated hitchhikees (is there even such a word?)!

sometimes, we'd strike up a conversation with the driver and it was pretty interesting for both hitchhiker and hitchhikee. i think the reason most of them actually stopped for us was they seldom see ppl doing such things, both in and out of campus, and it kinda amused them. hehe...

well, there's that. just a short reminiscence to some of the things we did in our uni days...

* no bento today! craving for korean bibeembab! :P

where did that come from???

it's amazing how our mind works! i've been discovering how my mind can compose it's own words and gibberish when i'm half asleep at my desk, esp lately, after starting working regular hours again. my current job requires me to wake up very early, so by the end of the day, i'll be a walking zombie! normally i'll be in a state of stupor by 11pm... and if i still have work to do, that's when all those funny compositions and whatnots will appear! when i look back at my work the next morning, a big question mark will form in my head, "har?! where did that come from???"

and yesterday was the funniest instance! i had just managed to struggle thru till the end, hoping to finish off the last bit and e-mail it out before i call it a night. by then i was so dazed that i had to keep stamping my feet and shaking my head to keep myself from dozing off in my chair... then when i was about the shut down the laptop, i thot to myself, "eh? did i e-mail it out ar?" so i opened up my outlook again to check. in my outbox, guess what i saw???

i dunno y or how, or mayb i was already in dreamland, but i actually e-mailed out my work to mon, with the subject title:
"u never study hor? better sit there, at my new place..."

BIG question mark, right?! i immediately went and called mon over to look! needless to say, i was wide awake instantly and rolling about in laughter!

i've been tagged!

Tagged by Emily!

WELL, HERE WE GO!
1. Real name: can dun put real name here? ask me personally!
2. Nickname: stargal
3. Married: not anytime soon!
4. Male or Female: female, but not so ladylike one!
5. High school: malacca high school, melaka
6. College: ukm
7. Short or long hair: shoulder length
8. Are you a health freak: not really...
9. Height: 163cm
10. Do you have a crush on someone: all the time! haha...
11. Do you like yourself: who doesn't?
12. Piercings: yup, 1 on the right ear and 2 on the left
13. Righty or Lefty: righty
14. First surgery: none yet
15. First piercing(s): standard 3 or 4
16. First person you see in the morning: can chewie be considered 'person'? if not, then the guard lor...
17. First award: ermm...
18. First sport you joined: swimming, i think
19. First pet: the white mouse without a name
20. First vacation: i could be only months old! how to remember?
22. First crush: erm... most prob the quiet and studious guy at my primary school book shop, whom i think was doing part-time after his spm. i was most prob 12 at that time...

CURRENTLY
23. Eating: not eating
24. Drinking: 3-in-1 old town hazel nut white coffee
25. You are about to: start working on my claims

YOUR FUTURE
26. Want kids: yeah, ideally a boy and then a girl
27. Want to get married: which gal wouldn't?...
28. Careers in mind: SAHV (stay at home vegetating!)
29. Lips or eyes: definitely eyes!
30. Hugs or kisses: both?
31. Shorter or taller: taller
32. Romantic or spontaneous: romantically spontaneous can ar?
33. Sensitive or loud: knows when to be one or the other at the right situation
34. Trouble maker or hesitant: ditto

HAVE YOU EVER
35. Kissed a stranger: eww!
36. Drank bubbles: yep
37. Lost glasses/contacts: nope
38. Ran away from home: so far nope... tho' have been tempted many times!
39. Liked someone younger: oh yes!
40. Liked someone older: oh yes!
41. Broken someone’s heart: i think so...
42. Been arrested: by whom?
43. Cried when someone died: depends on who died, right? if it's someone i know, then of course lar... i'm not a stone, ok?
44. Liked a friend: if i dun like him/her, then we wouldn't be friends, rite?

DO YOU BELIEVE IN
45. Yourself: of course
46. Miracles: of course
47. Heaven: heaven on earth!
48. Santa Claus: no
49. Angels: some form or other of angels lar... boddhisatvas of the earth!
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY (u mean i can be untruthful with the ones before???)
50. Is there one person you want to be with right now: yes...
51. Do you believe in God: no

I am now tagging: would love to tag san and mon, but they dun blog! and i dun know who my regulars are anymore! ok lar... i tag biow and leehuei!

on turning 30...

this is in response to karen cheng’s post, one of the few ‘stranger’s blogs’ that i frequent. and seeing that i’ll be hitting the big three-oh next year, i thot maybe i should give my take on the topic.

well, i’ve never really thot abt being 30. i mean, i used to think abt being 12, abt being 18 and 21. but who the heck thinks abt turning 30, rite? but i guess it’s sorta like an age-mark for everyone, especially women.

frankly, i don’t feel like i’m anywhere near 30. i still feel like i did when i’m in university. juz the other day, i was telling the housemates that when i go out, i’m still dressing like i did when i went for lecture! in jeans and Ts. and i dun think i look the age too. once, i was stopped by a reporter from sin chew to ask abt my views on a particular topic. and when she asked for my details like name, age etc., she was so shocked to learn that i’m 29. she thot i’m a college kid!

perspectively, i guess i’m a failure for a 30 y/o. i mean, women at 30 r supposed to be matured, with an established career, starting/nurturing a young family, financially independent, full of confidence, adult enough to know what she wants and yet young enough to have the zest and energy to face the challenges of the world, etc.

and then look at me. i dun feel an adult at all. even tho’ i consider myself streetwise, i don’t hold myself well with intellects my own age and i get intimidated easily. and career-wise, what career??? i don’t see where my career is heading, if what i’m doing now can be called ‘career’. my financial state is a haywire with credit-card debt like the black hole, and even tho’ i’m in a relationship, we’re not hearing wedding bells anytime soon… and i’m still not ‘settled’. i’m still running around, pursuing things like ice-skating, music and stuff, instead of seeking self-development such as getting a second degree/master or taking up a course to enhance my resume.

*sigh* will i end up the ‘old aunty’ pursuing youngsters stuff? but then again, y must i conform myself to society’s perception of what’s ‘aunty stuff’ and what’s ‘youngsters stuff’? is there really a clear definite line between the two? take ice-skating, for example. when i first started taking lessons, my colleagues at that time would laugh at me, especially this ‘big sister’, who is abt 8-10 years older than me. she’s quite a modern mom, not aunty at all. but when she heard that i’m taking ice-skating, she would always tease that i’m too old for such things. “lao liao lar (old already lar), still wanna do ice-skating. all ur bones are too stiff liao!” yes, i agree that age is a factor to consider. i’m more afraid of falling down compared to those kids, which made it harder and longer for me to learn the more difficult steps. but it’s something i want to do and it’s not like i’ll be going for the olympics…

i dunno… i dun even know how i feel abt turning 30. so what exactly should i feel differently the morning i wake up as a 30 y/o, compared to the previous night as a 29 y/o? will i suddenly feel wiser? more matured? or maybe feeling blue because i’ve reached the 30th mark without achieving anything great with my life thus far? or suddenly feel my bones going stiff? hehe… but then again, age has never really been anything to me other than numbers marking the duration i’ve been on planet earth. so why should 30 be any different from 29, rite? what’s most important is that i live my life MY WAY.

why i don't update

1) my dial-up's a bitch to connect
2) web pages take a lifetime to load with the said bitch dial-up (and dun get me started on the blogger comments pop-up!)
3) my life's as interesting as a doorknob now
4) working my ass off trying to get as much work done before my cambodia trip this thurs (yay! something is actually happening in my as-interesting-as-doorknob life!)
5) my hours are still in a haywire state. really gotta work out a schedule for myself...
6) lazy to string up words for those 'potential' posts in my head
7) i have a new fad! (ok, promise to blog abt this later, when i'm not so sleepy)
8) rereading the Harry Potter series (yes, again!). at order of the phoenix now, hoping to finish it before i go for the movie and wanna finish the half blood prince before i buy the last book (the title has eluded me for now, brain too blur for want of sleep! just stayed up the whole night working. can't believe i can be such a workaholic!)

zzZZzZzZZZZzzzzz....

ever since i went freelance, i've been doing things at my own time, as and when i like it... going to bed and waking up, eating, bathing, working, checking n replying mails etc. at the oddest hours, it's absolutely glorious! but now, after my doings have been discovered (by those who love to nag!), i'm careful to avoid sending/replying e-mails at abnormal hours (esp to family members).
reply from bro: what were u doing still up at such unearthly hours?! have u any idea what time it was?! 4.30am!!!
yikes! hehe...

anyway, this has made me quite accustomed to sleeping at any time of the day... which is really a bad thing. esp when i'm in the cinema. for the 3rd installment of a trilogy. with the first 2 installments i've yet to watch. that runs for 3 hrs. which the bf has practically dragged me to the cinema for.

can anyone believe i actually fell asleep in the middle of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End? twice??? and an afternoon show at that??? and it's not that it's a boring show. dunno y, somehow i just dozzed off! i'm so ashamed of myself. *hangs head*

phantom, finally!

12.00pm - marina square
w: what time is ur show?
me: 2pm
w: ok, still have time. let's walk-walk around for a bit first
me: ok. what abt my luggage?
w: leave it in the car. i'll drive u over to esplanade later. it's just opposite
me: ok

1.00pm
*phone ring*
n: where r u?
me: still at marina square with my cousin
n: ok, i saw yw oredi... faster come!
me: ok

1.20pm - sakae sushi, marina square
*phone ring*
n: where r u?
me: having lunch with my cousin
n: wahlao, still having lunch?? u better faster
me: ok ok...

1.45pm - basement car park, marina square
w: eh, where did we park the car ar?
me: erm... i dun remember ler
w: *mumbles* si liao, si liao... *mumble*
w: u remember from which direction we came from?
me: *slight panic* no...
w: *mumble* si liao, si liao... *mumble*
w: i remember we din walk too far from the car to the escalator ler...
me: ya lor, but where is it?
w: u remember from which direction we came from?
me: *panic* no...

1.50pm
*phone ring*
n: WHERE R U???
me: coming coming...
n: FASTER! they're calling liao!
me: *panic* i know! i'm coming.......

1.52pm
w: *mumble* si liao, si liao... *mumble*
w: i think u better run there urself... it's just opposite. then later after ur show, i'll come again to send u ur luggage
me: *panic* ok ok

1.54pm
*phone ring*
n: WHERE ARE YOU???
me: coming!!!
n: 6 more minutes before they close the door, dear! final call oredi!
me: ok ok! coming!!!

that was SO close! i just managed to squeeze in before they close the door! else i had to miss the opening act! *phew*

on the musical, it was FANTASTIQUE!!! ok, reviews, rants and thots in point forms:

1) the stage play, props, attention to details were amazing... i was so worried i'd miss out something!

2) i personally think raoul (john bowles) has better voice than the phantom (brad little). i melted when raoul sang! :Þ

3) christine dae (played by ana marina) is so short and kecik! like a kid!

4) the orchestra conductor was a woman! dem cool...

5) the chandelier din come crashing down! instead, they just lowered it slowly... so tak dramatic langsung! ok, i know it'll destroy the prop if they were to really let it crash down, and then they'd need new chandeliers for every show... but still, the chandelier was supposed to CRASH DOWN, ok? :(

6) when piangi was hanged, the rope wasn't long enough, so he was hung quite high up... and his body din drop down suddenly, so no surprise element lor.

7) the "expensive" seat i bought was so high up, i couldn't even see the phantom's grotesqueness when christine cabut his mask off... *sigh* had to buy a binocular during the intermission

8) had wanted to buy a t-shirt as souvenir, but dem expensive! $40 for a normal cotton t! that's like nearly RM100... siao!

9) had wanted to get the program book too... but i think it's expensive also. $25!! that's nearly RM60 for one book. so cheapskate rite, me? hehehe... i really should stop this habit of converting and seeing everything in RM! *sigh*

however i din come home empty handed either *grin* ok, will not post all my shopping in here, lest ppl say i'm showing off. but since the main topic of this post is on the phantom, will just show the 2 items i bought from esplanade.

mask keychain for the bf

music box from the esplanade gift shop, comes in a set of 2. one plays 'all i ask of you' and the other plays 'music of the night'. when i saw them, i just HAD to have them! :Þ

and one set is only $28. $28 for 2 music boxes! compared to the prog book, this is more value for money, dun u think? so happy...

misstepped...

missed a step on the stairs and sprained the ankle... :'(

i'm famous!

got this from the bro in the e-mail today. i'm at page 11!!!

even tho' the whole document is in norwegian and it's only my hand showing, but who cares? it's still meeeeeeeeeeee!!! *beam*

kedai runcit...

in my previous company, my drawer was dubbed 'the kedai runcit' coz i'll always reserve one whole drawer for food and snacks. hehe... here's my current 'kedai runcit'.



no wonder i can never slim down! *sigh*

a great year ahead!

yikes... was hoping to do a post on new year's day, but now the date to this post will show 2nd jan. i know i can always tinker with the date, but nvm lar...

ok, have not been blogging for sometime. so let's talk abt my christmas first. or rather, the few days before christmas.

the friday before christmas was to be my last working day of the year, coz i was to go on 'leave-clearing' leave from christmas to new year. but since i would be out of office for more than one week, i was not able to finish up all my job-in-hand on time. ok lar, i admit i'm inefficient lar... hehe... anyway, i stayed back in the office until 9.45pm! dang, i was the only person on my floor and it was so scary! i had to keep calling the building management to make sure they keep the lights on! actually i did not finish my work at 9.45pm, but i decided to fled when 2 security guards came up to jot down my ic number and told me all the lights will be switched off at 10pm!

staying back at work meant i had to miss wk's hen's night. i was supposed to go over to wk's house for her hen's night, then stay overnight to be her 'ji-mui' for her wedding the next morning. in the end, wk only had 5 'ji-mui' instead of 6... shucks! i was so looking forward to playing kk out!

neeways, the few of us gco players played the wedding march for kk's and wk's wedding ceremony in bk. this is the first time the song's been played live for any wedding in bk, so it's a proud moment for all of us! but i think our wedding march piece was too long, or maybe the bride and groom walked too fast. coz after only the 3rd line (abt 12 bars), they've reached the front of the hall and just stood there waiting for us to finish, so that they can sit down! kk said it's one of the most torturing moment, coz for once in his life, he can only stand in front of us and watch and can't pick up a baton to conduct us! hahaa... later, after the ceremony proper, we were supposed to present a short piece for the bride and groom. but at the mc's announcement, kk said jokingly that he wanna play also. i immediately offered my cello to him, asking him to join us. everyone else joined in to get him to play. well, he needed little persuading anyway! haha... in the end, wp gave up her cello to kk and ll offered her violin to wk. and the bride and groom played palladio with us! i think this is also the first time the bride and groom were in the performance for their own wedding ceremony! haha... needless to say, cameras were clicking away like crazy!

now this is what i call passion for music. even getting married also can't let go of ur instruments!


newliweds playing palladio with us (pls excuse the crappy sound. video was taken with a phone)


lh very excitedly competed with the gals for the bridal bouquet!


sat night was the wedding dinner... for me, i think this will be the most memorable wedding dinner yet! it's memorable not because it's at any posh hotel or restaurant, nor the food mouth-wateringly delicious, nor the whole dinner set-up super amazingly grand. it's memorable because most of the gco members were there (we had 3 tables) and everyone was so sincerely happy for the new couple. gosh, our 'yam-seng' were enough to bring down the house! and at one point of the dinner, we spontaneously decided to have all the gco members up on the stage to sing a song for the new couple. but seeing all of us going up on stage and hearing the mc announce 'ALL gco members', the newliweds also got up on the stage with us! i've never felt so touched singing 'peng-you' ('friends' by emil chow) before in my life. everyone was singing (and shouting) away, so proud to be a part of gco, the spirit of comradeship literally oozing from our every pore! i was struggling hard to keep my tears from falling!

sunday, christmas eve. at first, a few of my gco friends were thinking of planning something. but somehow, everyone was bz and also like no mood for any big plans... so in the end, we decided to just get together at some ulu western makan place (to avoid the kl jam and crowd) and that's it. then at the last minute, i found out that the housemates will not be in on christmas eve, so we got everyone to meet at my place instead. we did a pot-luck kinda thing, played some cards and mahjong, exchanged gifts, drank some wine, talked a bit, laughed a lot... all in all, it was a fun and simple christmas eve gathering, albeit some tiny problems with parking at my apartment.

then on christmas day, i decided that i simply HAD to get into office to settle some stuff. don't really like to leave my stuff for my clgs to settle... so went back to the office for abt 3 hours before rushing back again to pack my bag to go home for my long leave. so that's how i spent my christmas day... at work, and a quiet wine and kacang session with the family at night.

nothing much happened at home. lots of tv (even crap ones) and sleep... so zooooommm! fast forward.....

came back to kl on sat, 30th dec. came back early even tho' work only starts on the 3rd, coz have rehearsal for our new year gongyo performance. rehearsal went ok, followed by extra practice after dinner. then when we were packing up at the end of our practice, N suddenly asked if i wanna go out for drinks the next night. we didn't really plan to have any celebration initially... everything was just impromptu. so i asked our usual gang and bang! we have a new year's eve plan! haha...

we decided to try out a new cafe in an almost ulu place, again, to avoid the kl jam and crowd. but as it turned out, the place was quite happening when we got there. apparently, a whole big family has taken up 1/2 the place, and we only managed to get a regular round table (for 9 of us!). first, we just sat around, talked, played uno (provided by the cafe), had some drinks and finger snacks... but as it neared midnight, things started to heat up. most of the patrons (NOT including us) were already running around spraying each other with those party spray thingy.

things got really crazy after the countdown, so we decided to move to a quieter place where we can sit and eat real food and have a decent conversation ---> the mamak shop at the end of the block from the cafe. it's a good thing we made our escape fast, coz as we were walking towards the mamak, police cars began to arrive at the cafe. well, those kinda parties were not our cup of tea anyway.

at the mamak, we did some serious planning for gco. and i was so proud of N who volunteered to lead the spring cleaning of the gco room... finally, i can see she's getting more involved and making herself a part of gco!

new year's day... we only performed for the afternoon session this year, so i got to sleep in a bit. overall, i can say the performance was a victorious one. we're going to set a tradition of playing strauss's pieces for new year's day. so this year, we started with 'thunder and lightning', strauss's polka piece. i was so happy to see wy keeping her promise to join the performance. and i was also very happy and proud to see N hurrying me to faster-faster put down my cello before she went on ahead of me to kneel down to do the new year gongyo! on her own free will! without me telling her to! *beam*

too bad din take any pics of our christmas eve and new year's eve escapades... dunno y, but lately, i find myself really lazy to handle the camera. unless it's other ppl's camera lar. then i dun mind posing! haha...

so that's my christmas and new year story. no crazy party or anything special. just some quiet time (ok, maybe not exactly quiet) spent simply with a bunch of great friends... and i dunno, but i have this feeling that this year would be a great year! filled with challenges, no doubt, but great all the same!

here's a very humungous new year wish to everyone!

lukewarm chicken shit?

*warning: ranting post ahead

what is it with ppl??? hate it when they generalise everything and just base things on their own assumption!

so i've tried learning the piano and gave it up after a while. and sold off the piano. does that make me a loser? am i supposed to keep at it even though i don't like it? would that make the whole wide world happier if i do???

everytime i tell friends what i'm doing, they would say things like "har? a new interest? so what happened to ur piano?", or "are u sure this new thing won't end up like ur piano?" urgh!!! they have to keep bringing up the blardy piano! so what if i gave it up halfway??? so shoot me!

i've been skating for nearly 3 years and i still like it, ok??? and i've been playing the cello for more than a year and i'm still passionate abt it, ok??? in fact, i'll be taking lessons from an mpo player to bring my skills to another level, ok??? and i was in KK for like more than 10 years, ok?????? does that sound like hangat-hangat tahi ayam to u???

i just don't know what is it with ppl... just because i'm passionate abt so many things? is that it?

is it wrong to wanna try things? and when we found out that the things we're trying is not what we want, not something we like, is it wrong to stop doing it? is it wrong to move on to other things? urgh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

season of indulgences...

kh: did u get ur bonus or something?
me: nope. i dun get any bonuses this year
kh: *incredulously* then??? what are these? *indicates to his arms laden with MY shopping*
me: hehe...
kh: what? therapy?
me: yeah! my erm... 'sanity-gaining therapy'!*grin*
kh: *rolls eyes*

poor kh... who made the mistake of suggesting that we 'walk around a bit' after our lunch. well, let's just say he wasn't amused.

on my own

it's funny... i've moved out of the parents house for like what? 8 years? and all these while, i've never been particularly home sick or anything like that. maybe it's because i go home fairly regularly and then there's always the phone. but once the parents are away and not reachable by phone, i'll start missing them!

and it's funny how when something is with you, u don't really use them on normal days. but once it's not with you, u suddenly find urself needing to use it SO badly! argh!

the parents have only been gone for less than a week on a holiday and already i have 101 things to ask/tell/update them! and i can't! coz there's no roaming coverage for their lines. *sheesh!

was making soup yesterday when i ABSOLUTELY need to ask mom something... and got so frustrated that i can't. so my soup would have to do without any advice...

fixed the doorbell a few nights back and wanted to tell dad and make him proud of me... but can't!

met an aunty (not really my own aunt, just one of mom's friends whom all we call 'aunty') the other day and am DYING to tell mom abt our conversation... but of course i can't.

was fixing the toilet cistern on sunday night when i need some advice from dad, but can't!

suddenly i wanna snap pictures of so many things, but can't, coz the camera's with dad.

wanted dad to check on some id numbers, but would have to wait until they come back.

*sigh...

i swear i'll appreciate them more from now on...

not in and not out!

got back at about 7.30pm yesterday and decided to go to pasar malam. been so long since i last went to pasar malam... and craving for pickled mangoes! but shucks, i forgot to bring my car keys in my work bag, so terpaksa go up to the apartment to get it... after changing into more comfy clothes, i grabbed my wallet, handphone n car keys, stuffed them into my carry-on and just walked out, locking my room door and front wooden door behind me. and right immediately after slamming that wooden door shut, something went *duk* in my heart and with a short, sharp intake of breath, i froze momentarily. without even having to check, i realized.....

oh sh*t!! i forgot my house keys!!!

so i'm stuck in that tiny shoe rack space between the wooden door and the front gate, can neither go out nor back in. can there be anything worse than that??? apparently, there is...

frantic calls to my 2 housemates produced only voice mails... grrr... why aren't they picking up??? deaf or what?! i think i must've left 10+ missed calls on their phones! so now i'm stuck in/out of the house, with no clue of when help would come. i could be standing there all night! argh!!! what can be worse than this? but believe me, things CAN get worse! damn murphy's law!

my phone started giving low-batt warnings! omg!!! how long more can i keep calling? after a few more warnings, i decided to place a distress call to N and get her to help call my housemates. so after waiting for abt 15 minutes, N called back to say that housemates are on their way, and asked me to wait (like i'm going anywhere!).

with no extra batt life to chat away the waiting time with N, what else could i do? *sigh... so just stood there like orang bodoh, smilled shyly at my opposite neighbour when they came home, pretended to be sending sms-es, hoping passers-by would think i'm waiting for someone, and avoided eye contact with my adjacent neighbour when he came home, making as tho' standing there in between that 2 doors is the most normal thing to do.

at long last, after an hour plus 'ordeal', i was rescued... luckily my housemates were just having dinner nearby and didn't decide to go for midnight movies or something! but all is not over, as i still had to deal with my room door (house keys were in my room).......

simple pleasures...

1) waking up with full knowledge that breakfast is waiting for you in the kitchen downstairs, prepared for you by the people who love you, despite it being nearly noon when you woke up

2) having your tongue burned by a pot of boiling steamboat on a cold rainy day

3) watching k-drama the whole day, with an inexhaustible supply of mamee and cold ribena at your disposal

4) having your wish of eating o-chien (fried oyster) granted after showing only a pout, despite it being 'forbidden food' due to your being unwell

5) finding a much-longed for bag (in the very colour that you want!) in a 'small place' store, after looking for it for ages in the big city and being told repeatly it's been sold out

6) snuggling back into the covers on a rainy morning, knowing that you could get up at any time you choose, or not at all if you should so choose, due to the fact that it's a saturday

7) meeting up with an old old friend, and having a nice and comfortable chat abt everything and nothing at all