Yeo's Retreat 2010 & 2011

The big day has finally arrived for the team to embark on a journey to Ho Chi Minh, the largest city in Vietnam. Despite the thought of dragging our feet up early in the morning to catch the earliest flight, our sleepy faces & pursed lips couldn't help but curled into eager smiles.

Being the inexperienced traveller, I was unprepared with sufficient luggage space for a 4D3N trip. It didn't occur to me that my family rarely travels around & wouldn't have varying luggage sizes to cater to different needs. Instead of using a huge old Delsey hard case without the telescopic handle, I had to make do with an 18" trolley bag from Shiseido. I stuffed all my necessities & left my bath towel behind cuz the clothes are starting to spill over. This goes to show that sometimes saving a few hundred bucks from buying a new luggage won't do you any good. And I totally forgot about asking my aunt. Bummer! -_-"

Me & WL took the coach from PJ to LCCT, arriving the destination at 7am plus. Our flight is scheduled at 9.05am & we had slightly more than 1 hour before departure. At the departure hall, I couldn't help but took out my camera to take a snapshot of a plane nearby. I felt a gush of excitement as I counted the number of years since the last time I took a flight overseas. Almost 13 years ago...

Not long after that, we were served with meals which were pre-purchased online. I supposed there weren't much variety as most of us are eating similar food. I got nasi lemak + 100ml water while others had nasi briyani.

Approximately 1 1/2 hour later, we landed at Tan Son Nhat Airport - slightly earlier than the scheduled 2 hours flight. I supposed the plane taxi-ing, luggage collection & immigration adds up to the remaining half hour. When the plane slowed down to a halt, most of the passengers stood up immediately & unloaded their luggages off the cabin - standing & waiting impatiently for the air stewardess to open up the exit door. I remained seated & looked on; not wanting to fight my way through & risk getting pushed around. :/

Minutes later, the indoor lights & air-cond was shut off leaving the whole plane warm & stuffy. I was flabbergasted. The Southern RSM seated next to me chuckled, "They do save cost in every possible way, don't they?". I grinned in response. Subsequently, we were provided the luxury to walk through the skybridge connecting both the plane & the terminal. At LCCT, we had to walk on the grounds to the plane. Imagined if it's raining cats & dogs. -.-"

Here we were in between the skybridge, spotting 3 spectacular "metal birds" parked majestically side by side - the proud property of Vietnam Airlines.

The airport is relatively smaller than KLIA but despite the size, it's bustling with activity unlike the quiet halls you see at KLIA.

Here we are, entering the city with barely 15 mins drive from the airport.

Traffic in Ho Chi Minh is total madness! If you think that Malaysians are reckless, wait until you see Vietnamese on the road. Motorcyclists reign supreme there & they don't even stop at zebra crossings to allow pedestrians to cross.

Even the warm temperatures are unbeatable. During April & May, the temperature could reach up to 34 degrees Celsius. If you think KL is hot & sunny, you have yet to experience the worse. At Ho Chi Minh, the sun rises early at 6am - as bright as 7am to 8am in Malaysia although the city is an hour slower. The air gets warm & humid as the hour passes by; to the extend of stuffy & congested - like there's no air to breathe.

Throughout the trip, we had had all sorts of Vietnamese & Chinese dishes alike. Sadly, it wasn't a pleasant experience when it came to food mainly cuz our tour is fairly cheap - hence, the less tasty food we get to indulge in. Here's the good & bad...

Good: Beef noodles

I ordered this at Pho 24 for a quick meal not long after we arrived at the hotel from the airport. Pho 24 is not known for serving the best beef noodles in town but this is considerably good. Apparently the famous one is few blocks down the street but the group who followed us don't consume beef & we were just too tired to walk anyways :/.

Bad: Steamed tilapia fish

This dish was served at the floating restaurant on our first night. The miserable size was meant to feed 6 people. Not only was it insufficient, it was cold & not fresh. Coming all the way to Ho Chi Minh to dine on this dish is total waste of money. This dish obviously tasted so much better back home.

Good: Steamed rice cake

The only dish that is mouth-watering & worth a second serving. It tasted like the usual HK style steamed chee cheung fun which is also made of rice flour except that this cake uses fish sauce instead of soya sauce. In Vietnam, fish sauce is used as a substitute for soya sauce to give a savoury taste to all dishes. Imho, it does taste good but some restaurants served the sauce that has a slight hint of fishy smell. Boo-boo!

Bad: Glutinuous rice cake with dried shrimps

I gagged each time I took a bite on this Vietnamese delicacy. It was a known fact that I dislike eating dried shrimps aka har mai & glutinuous rice cake in general. Oh the horror when the waiter brought a plateful to the table for us cuz it's the worse combination I could ever imagine. Moreover, the dried shrimps were not the small ones that we normally see in Malaysian dishes but these are comparable to the size of a 20 cent coin. It's gummy texture & odd taste crept up all over my tastebuds upon chewing the first bite & trust me, it was a torturous experience to endure. Bleagh!

It was fun travelling overseas with colleagues but it was WL's presence that made the whole trip more safe, warm & meaningful. Although it wasn't our personal trip, it was our first time travelling out of the country. He was no doubt protective of me but he's an awesome bargain hunter. Ask for any price & he can almost persuade the sellers to agree. Honestly, I felt ashamed that being a woman - I'm such a lousy shopper *sighs*. Hmm, we weren't shy to hug each other close while taking pictures. One is not stupid enough to not notice that we're in a relationship. The whole company knows, I supposed. But we still pretend to be oblivious to how much others are well-informed about us. We just couldn't be bothered ;)

On the last day, it was free & easy for those are bound for the last flight home. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, we set foot early in the morning to Ben Tanh Market which is only 10 minutes away from our hotel. We stocked up on souvenirs to bring home - lotus seeds, Vietnamese coffee, almonds, decorations etc. As mentioned earlier, I came with only an 18" luggage which barefly fits all my clothes. Plus the goodies from the night market shopping I did the last two nights, there is no way I can stuff the food & non-food items into my tiny luggage nor WL's cuz his one is full too. In desperate need for a luggage, we ended up buying a Polo Club imitation 20" luggage for only RM40+. Can you imagine that kind of price?? But don't expect much as I'll elaborate on that later. Once back to the hotel, I transferred my clothes & necessities to my new luggage to check in & the 18" to store the souvenirs for carry-in.

There were a couple of hours away before we head to the airport. We decided to drop by Lotteria (finally! =D) for a munch. This is the most popular fast food chain in Vietnam besides KFC. That's right, McD doesn't exist here. The great thing about overseas fast food chain is that it serves non-halal burgers which leads to an array of flavours to choose from. I settled for a Lotteria Combo Meal - beef burger, fries & Pepsi for 55,000 dong. Now that's not cheap nor expensive cuz the burger portion is small, just like Malaysia. The burger does taste yummy for a change. =)

The next few hours were a blurry past of events as we hurried over to the respective departure gate to catch our flight home. Little did we expect that our flight will be delayed for more than hour. It was frustrating & exhausting, yet seeing all the long faces of passengers stuck in the same predicament does worsen my mood. I was starving too cuz the flight was late & I haven't had my meal yet. =(

Alas, we boarded the plane at almost 9.30pm (Vietnam time). I was so relieved. I bid Ho Chi Minh farewell for the last time & fell into a deep slumber.

Upon touchdown at LCCT, I noticed a really groovy AirAsia plane. One of a kind~

It was already 1.30am when I reached home. Gosh, I was so dead tired. The thought of turning up to the office the next day kills me >.<. Anyways, back to the luggage story. When we were waiting to collect our luggage at LCCT, I found out that one side of my luggage stand was broken. I wasn't sure to laugh or cry cuz it was BRAND NEW, for God's sake. Now you know that cheap is not always good. Don't squeeze that penny too much.

The next epic thing is I bought a set of sportswear; more like an attire for tennis that is branded "Adidas" but with the tag "Made in Singapore". Who am I kidding? Only RM20 & the "Adidas" word was misspelt anyways. Epic fail!

For more pictures of the trip, go to my FB profile. You don't expect me uploading all here, do you? XD

Back to home sweet home

Several days after my return from Ho Chi Minh, I'm still feeling the tired bug in me. Every inch in my body screams exhaustion. I wonder why...

I supposed the scorching weather at Vietnam really drained all our fluids dry, leaving us suffering & in desperate need for rehydration. In addition, boarding the last flight home turned out to be a 1 hour delay nightmare. According to the pilot captain, the delay was inevitable due to a storm at Kuching en route to Ho Chi Minh. -_-"

Home is still the best place in the world. I'm still in the midst of transferring the pics & uploading it on my FB. Keep a lookout in my upcoming post.

Ho Chi Minh, here I come!

Isn't it great news your company offers you the opportunity to be part of the incentive trip? After almost 13 years staying put in my home country, I'm flying abroad with my colleagues for the first time. We're bound on the earliest AirAsia flight tomorrow morning.

Dear Ho Chi Minh City, I don't know what to expect from your city when I arrive. Although I'd have to say that you are not on my list of must-visit countries for vacation, I'm excited because the entire trip is fully paid for =). I'll make sure to enjoy myself there. Partly because WL is going too!

On the go

I was on the road for the past few days for a work assignment. To give a short presentation, sharing our marketing plans for the upcoming quarter. Early in the morning, we started the journey down south - first stop at Melaka. Being my first time in that town, it was a little sad that I wasn't able to travel around. After all, my main purpose was to meet up with the Southern sales team.

Our meeting lasted for hours - each of us taking short breaks - some walked out for a ciggie break while the ladies escaped to the corner away from the cold air blasting off the air-cond. The meeting adjourned at approx 8.30pm & we were back on the road to JB. With no proper dinner, my stomach was literally growling for food. At last, we stopped at a rest area that has a few eateries still opened despite the late dinnertime.

Unfortunately, all the stalls are operated by Malays so you could imagine the limited variety of food sold. I only managed to grab a meat bun for a bite to fill up my growling stomach, irregardless of the bad taste. Okay, it wasn't all that bad. Still edible. =| We were back on the road again & about 2 hours later, we arrived JB at 11.40pm. I was very exhausted & dying for a shower before I jumped into a deep slumber. To my surprise, the hotel turned out to be pretty luxurious & spacious too.

One thing I'd have to admit that sleeping alone in the hotel room can be quite a scary experience. I supposed it's due to the quiet & stillness of the air that makes your brain imagine & hear weird sounds that do not exist. Fatigue closed in as my eyes struggled to stay opened. Not long after that, I fell deep asleep with barely 5 hours to wake-up time. The next thing I know is that I was wide awake & at the lobby indulging on a quiet breakfast while flipping through the morning papers that I picked up from my door.

Our first destination of the day is the JB plant. Being my first time, I was quite amazed at the size of the plant that manufactures several products ranging from packet drinks to the age-old soya sauce. Walking down the fermentation area with soya beans kept in huge dark brown containers indeed an eye-opener. I supposed this plant is older than me & has been through lots of rain & shine until this day. My own casual stroll around the plant was cut short when my colleague called upon departing to the next destination, our new distributor's office. My colleague & I parted ways when I decided to follow one of the sales rep for market visit. He wouldn't be returning to KL so soon which renders me no transport home. It would be senseless to tag along to his wife's hometown, right?

After a simple lunch & a tough time struggling to utter words in Chinese,the sales rep took me for market visit to the outlets under her service. Lots of info were exchanged as the sales rep drove around town. Feels good to be connected to these people who walk the market & know almost every nooks & cranks of the business in that particular area/region. Another new friend was made~ =) She was nice enough to give me a lift to my uncle's office at Skudai. Again, we exchanged phone numbers & FB contacts. The next minute, I was at my uncle's office enjoying corn-in-a-cup courtesy of my dear sales rep while chattering with Uncle Terry about my trip.

My uncle's concern over my boredom loitering in his office led him to fetching me to my aunt's salon. Had my hair cut, permed & dyed to perfection. After all, I'm under the hands of a professional ;).

My aunt, uncle & I were supposed to have dinner together but in the end didn't because they had to visit the temple for prayers instead. Being concerned about fatigue, they told me to stay at home & watch TV. I showered; went downstairs to the living room & started channel surfing. The lack of Astro eventually reduces the choice of programmes to watch. I went to bed early & still awestruck by the environment of the bedroom I chose to sleep in. It didn't change much since the last time I visited years ago. So cute!

The next morning was another quiet day for me as both aunt & uncle left early for work. Left with only Kellogg's & no milk, I had to munch the dried cornflakes while engrossed myself with morning TV. My flight is not due in another few hours time so I was out for a quick lunch with my uncle & then back to his house, waiting for time to pass by. I found out that I wasn't allowed to carry-in big bottles of hair products to the cabin. Had no choice but to leave all my hair care items behind & wait for uncle to courier it. The airport is only half hour away from uncle's place - so short the distance that I didn't realise I have arrived. Took my hand luggage, bidded farewell to uncle & headed for the counter to check-in.

In an hour or so, I was due to board the plane. Being the first time flying alone, I'd have to admit that I was a little excited although it's only a domestic flight back home. What's even more interesting is to fly on a propeller plane! Never in my entire life...

It's a really small cabin inside & the seats were pretty crammed up that there's not much room leg for passengers to stretch. I pity the tall passengers~ But I reminded myself several times that it's only a short flight paid by the company. Much better than enduring a 5 hour bus ride home.

The plane departed without delay (much to my joy!) & ascended up the sky. I was amazed when the pilot captain announced that midway, we have already reached 16,000 feet at 430 kmph. Oh, such a small plane can also do wonders! =P No wonder we get to see beautiful skies like this.

I think the flight wasn't exactly an enjoyable one reason being the loud noises from the propellers & its vibrating sounds resonating across the small plane. Never expect small planes to be able to sustain the vibrations & land smoothly without bouncing up & down the runway. The jumbo jets or the Airbus are a class of its own. After arrival, I grabbed my luggage & walked briskly out of the SkyPark terminal. I saw WL in the car, waiting to pick me up. What a nice feeling to have him as the first person welcoming me home! =)

Loneliness

Lately I have been going through a difficult time at home with countless arguments happening every now & then. Grandma is experiencing emotional turmoil, frequently getting out of control as the memory of her unhappy past slowly unfolds. This happened partly due to the fact that she could not accept grandpa's current situation. Not to forget the jealousy, doubts & suspicions that she has for the nurse aggravated the problem. With tough days like these, what could better than keeping myself occupied & ignore everything else. I thought that drowning myself with work will help me escape for the day.

However, it's not always sunny at the other side. Things get worse when your superiors are head on against each other. Imagine working in a tensed environment full of frustration & politics. It's no wonder I'm starting to feel that I don't gain any new knowledge, career-wise. One would ask if this dog & cat fights ever end.

WL is working out of the country for a week. Thanks to tech advancements, we are able to chat everyday. But on lonely days like this, who wouldn't want to snug up cosily to him for a warm, comforting hug that everything will be okay? Or cry my heart out while he searches for soothing words to calm me down? My heart felt like there's a missing piece without his presence. Oh God, how much I miss him dearly...=(

How aunts & uncles can be horrific "creatures"?

It's been a long time since I last updated & I'm ashamed to admit that I don't have the drive & passion to blog like I used to. My life has been on a rollercoaster ride since grandpa was discharged from hospital & requires nursing care, not to mention lots of patience from us. Although exhausted each day, I still find some personal quiet time to recap on what has happened throughout the week. At least I may have something memorable to write about & to be kept for future reading. And to distract myself from the sorrows at home. *sighs*

Last week was our company's annual general meeting for public shareholders. Just like in previous years, we held it at the same hotel due to budget constraints. It was a surprising sight (at least to me) seeing the shareholders turning up very early, waiting patiently for the door to the ballroom to be opened. This is in contrast to our Malaysian habit of being fashionably late. Another interesting sight to take note is that the attendees are majority senior citizens.

Some came for the sake of collecting the freebies; most of them came for the food while only a minority are serious shareholders wanting to know more about the company performance & giving opinions on how to improve it. When the chairman announced the meeting adjourned, you wouldn't believe your eyes seeing a group of the shareholders rushing through the door - trying hard to get to the food before everyone else. Fellow aunts brought plastic bags to pack the food home. Out of nowhere, another old lady would push herself through & shove her hands through - armed with forks & spoons - to gather food to her containers; oblivious to the people around her who might not be able to get his/her well-deserved share.

After all the commotion, the buffet area was an eyesore with fruits & food bits scattered all over. It was shocking to witness uncivilised behaviour of what seemed like a group of well-mannered senior folks. I'm ashamed that we have such a wise community who can afford to behave like barbarians. Oh the irony!

Kotex Luxe "No Compromise" Contest

I'd have to say that I'm one hell of a lucky girl to win such an expensive prize. Not being a frequent Kotex user, I decided to purchase their newly launched Kotex Luxe sanitary napkin when the contest form caught my eye.

All I did was submit two contest forms with two original receipts respectively & hope for the best or nothing at all. It was during Christmas when this contest as well as the roadshow kickstarted. The results was only to be revealed after 28 Feb 2010. More than a month later, there was still no news & I thought other people might've been more lucky. Little did I expected, I received a call the other day from a Kotex representive informing about my win. What a great surprise!

The winners were supposed to attend the fitting session whereby each of us are required to randomly select two dresses - day & night. If any one of them who failed to attend the fitting will have to accept whichever design selected by the Kotex representative. I was only half an hour late & most of the designs were chosen by the other winners. Hence, I was only left with very few designs to choose from. Bummer!

I crossed my fingers & dipped my hand into the box & pulled out two pieces of papers with the designs on them. I had mixed feelings when I opened the pieces of papers. I got myself...

L-R: Night & day dress

I wasn't sure how to react cuz both dresses were not to my liking. Yes it does look good on the model but I wasn't sure if I could wear them out; particularly the flamboyant & puffy night dress. Even if there's a ball, who would've flaunt like that? Too eye-catchy that people might think that I'm trying too hard.

The day dress was made of those soft, flowy chiffon that never worked well with my thin frame. Upon trying, surprisingly...both dresses look pretty good. While the puffy night dress looked extra funky with the added magenta belt, the day dress looks pretty simple & definitely ready for a night out at a club. Just a little adjustments to the underarm & the back will do the trick to fit my body better.

While the day dress was left at the boutique for alteration, I took the humongous night dress back to the office - struggling to walk straight & squeezing in out of the taxi - trying to avoid the curious stares & enquiries. The dress had indeed grabbed the attention of my co-workers with most of them admiring it closely, teasingly suggesting that I should wear it on my wedding day. -.-" Nevertheless, it was a good day to sum it all cuz half the time I was thrilled that I won two dresses worth RM6,000! ^^

I have turned 24

My birthday was celebrated in a simple but in a slightly bigger scale this year with my colleagues. The main reason was to utilise the prize money that our department had won from the CNY Inter-department Competition. Since there are two March babies in the dept (which includes me), all of us have decided to make good use of the funds available. Our neighbour dept is also celebrating one of our colleagues birthday; which is why our party turned out to be not triple but a quadruple celebration.

We headed to Shogun, a newly opened outlet at Sunway Pyramid to start our feast. The variety is fairly wide ranging from Japanese to Chinese fusion dishes although the it is marketed as a Japanese buffet restaurant. The food was okay but don't expect anything better. Ice creams are of non-Haagen Daz origins unlike the ones served in Tenji, mind you. Since there wasn't any cake for the birthday babies, each of us are being served mini sliced cakes decorated with fruits & desserts taken from the buffet tables.

Ain't it fun to celebrate with someone who shares the same date of birth as you? Seen here is my ex colleague who is older but born on the same day.

Of course, celebrating my big day with WL was always memorable. It was only a simple dinner at Riblee's but it was definitely an enjoyable night. Like they all said, it doesn't matter where you are celebrating - as long as you're spending time with the person that you loved the most will more than make up for the less favourable environment. No doubt the good food & ambience will add more flavour to a special occasion.

The humble entrance to Riblee's.

The food we ordered that night tasted pretty interesting although the pasta wasn't up to my expectations. Good food, nevertheless. Yum! =)

Wild mushroom soup & crisp roast pork salad for starters.

Our double main course - smoked ham quesadillas & Riblees classic carbonara

I'd have to say that the quesadillas was amazingly good with the thin, crispy crust...the juicy ham & sauce mixed with the scrumptious onions. Omg, so heavenly~ I'm craving for it while I'm blogging this =P. However, the carbonara had too much sauce which tasted overly creamy to begin with. It felt a little bit challenging to have the mouthful passing through the throat. The carbonara could've been slightly drier instead of soaking wet with too much cream & cheese. There you have it, a little short story about the day I turned 24. Despite not receiving any gifts, I supposed having a good meal is hell one of an easy-to-satisfy gift. Really hoping to visit Riblee's again for those yummy quesadillas. XD

A sick person at home

Now that grandpa has finally returned home, many things had to be changed. Besides learning how to feed him milk through the tube, we need to get up in the wee hours of morning to change his diapers. Ultimately, feeding grandpa porridge at a very slow pace requires lots of patience.

Unfortunately, grandma is the one who is difficult to handle as she throws tantrum every now & then - being impatient during feeding & perhaps feeling a sense of guilt that she couldn't do much. And perhaps feeling frustrated that why her care is not helping much to speed up recovery like before. Despite all the commotion, I can't express how glad I was when grandpa arrived home. How much I missed not having him around for almost 2 months. What's even more joyful is seeing a smile on his face when he knew it's time for him to return. Lets just hope the yelling & screaming would lessen as months come by.

Noodles with added vegetables

Being alone at home has its pros & cons. The good thing about it is that the house becomes less noisy & nobody distracts you from doing your own thing. The bad, however, is you're left to take care of your own meals all the more if you're a grown up. Grandpa's car was available & I could easily drive out anytime to buy lunch. But the terrifying thought of getting stucked in jams & no luck in finding a parking on a scorching hot day is more than enough to keep myself glued at home.

Much thanks to the inventor of instant noodles, a simple meal can be prepared conveniently at anytime of the day. The cooking instruction is as easy as cooking lesson for dummies. Everyone can create seemingly tasty noodles by just following the steps-by-steps. As for me, eating only the noodles are definitely unhealthy without some protein content. Since there was no eggs in the fridge, I ended up garnishing my noodles with spinach & sliced carrots for a slightly healthy diet. XD

Ta-daa!

You only need the following:

1 pkt instant noodles (soup/dry) - I used Ibumie Har Mee Mi Goreng for the above

Vegetables (your preference)

Egg (highly recommended)

Poultry/seafood slice

Now says who that instant noodles are unhealthy? It can be another balance meal when cooked properly.

For the love of pasta & all that Italian

Most of the celebrations this year were not pre-planned as I have hoped for due to many reasons. First, it was due to my grandpa's current condition. Secondly, the celebrations clash with one another. Hence, I had weigh the opportunity cost & reluctantly postpone one. After all, family matters prevail.

Despite all the commotion that is still happening, I still managed to spend some quality time with WL. And to celebrate his long gone birthday & our belated Valentine's Day for the 2nd time. It was less than 2 weeks before CNY & poor WL still couldn't find a new shirt. With shopping in mind, we went to Sunway Pyramid in hope to scout for one that suited him. In the end, we settled for a simple, light-hearted meal at a Italian restaurant with a Japanese twist. It is Pasta de Gohan we're talking about. =)

While waiting for our main course, we digged into our appetisers. XD WL was so engrossed with his cream mushroom soup & commented several times about how delicious it was! I was literally mad over the mashed potato salad. Absolutely yummy~ Mmmm...

My order for the day was Chicken katsu tamato-ji.

Me indulging in spaghetti with wafu sauce.

When it comes to Italian food, we were never bored laying our eyes on those lovely pastas prepared in the restaurant. As if dining in a Japanese-Italian restaurant ain't enough, we decided to celebrate our belated Valentine's Day at more authentic Italian restaurant - Italiannies at 1U.

This outlet will always remain the closest to our hearts because it was this friendly dinner that led to our union. Many things followed after that night & until now, we couldn't be more glad than having that delicious meal together.

Our selection this time was parmesian crusted fish & smoked salmon pizza. The fish was deep fried in bread crumbs with with some salad leaves & melted parmesan cheese on top the boneless meat. Whereas the pizza was made of thin, crispy crust topped with onions, melted cheese & slices of smoked salmon.

What's surprising is that I have turned into quite a salmon lover despite not eating it each time my family ordered salmon dishes. I guess when a certain food is not to your liking will eventually be one of your favourites if at least once in your life you've tasted the best dish ever served. And I've discovered that smoked salmon is actually cooked salmon! Little did I know that I'm THAT ignorant~ =P

Me & WL never failed to dig our hands into when it comes to Italian food. If not, we wouldn't have attempted cooking our very own pasta. After all, it's just our way to display our passion for each other...as well as Italian delights.

Lucky star is on my side

What is one of the Chinese customs that we never miss during CNY? It's gambling, of course. Frankly speaking, I'm not much of a gambler cuz it's not really in my family culture to place small bets in card games. Grandpa dislikes it & never permit us to play at home for fear of addiction.

I was at an old friend's house to bai nin & she invited us for a few rounds of blackjack. Since it was for pure fun & no serious bettings involved, I decided to take part as well. I guess lucky star has been on my side despite losing minimal bets in the first few rounds. Luck took a good turn towards the end & when it was my turn to be the chonker, my lucky star was definitely shining oh-so-bright on me.

Unbelievably, I won RM20+ with only RM1 or RM2 bets. Whee! XD Nevertheless, it was a good game after all not cuz of win or lose but the opportunity to catch with each other after a two year lapse. I mean, how often do we get to meet up like this so often? This the joy of CNY. =)

Roaring Tiger is here to usher New Year & Valentine's Day

Just after slightly more than a month, the year of the Tiger is here! For the first time (or at least in my life), the Lunar New Year coincides with Valentine's Day. This day is special in some ways as it doesn't happen in another 40 years or so. I didn't want any flowers this year even though WL was planning to give me a smaller bouquet as a gesture to signify our 2nd Valentine's celebration.

As for CNY, this year is a different kind of celebration for my family as compared to previous years - without grandpa's presence. Grandpa's untimely incident didn't allow him to recover in time; return home & to usher the new year with us. We still continued with our customs of reunion dinner & prayers. After that, we headed to the hospital to greet him. It was late at night by the time arrived & he was seen sleeping soundly. He didn't respond much when we called mainly because he was exhausted from the physiotherapy during the day.

Seeing him bedridden & missing out the fun at home made us disheartened. I'm sure anyone who have gone through this can truly understand what we're feeling right now.

But there's nothing we can do. Only time can tell. Meanwhile, Happy Chinese New Year & Valentine's to all of you. Have a prosperous & roaring new year ahead!

Good signs

It's been two weeks since the day grandpa was admitted to the hospital for stroke. After numerous occasion of changing, moving in & out of different wards; he is finally being placed in a normal ward. And the good news is...he is showing signs of recovery.

I'm amazed at the rate he is recovering; considering his age. There are several things that he still can't do - speech, sitting up or opening his eyes, Nevertheless, we were all relieved & glad that he is now able to move his left arm & both his limbs.

Time is what grandpa needs to heal. Even the doctors are unsure to what extend he will recover. Due to his old age, he may not be able to fully heal & return back to normal ie stand & walk. For me, I only want him to stay healthy. I know that some day in the near future, he may no longer be around. But my final wish is to hope that he lives on...long enough to see me get married. Nothing more.

Dear grandpa, please get well soon!

Sudden attack

The past few hours had been a rather horrifying experience to begin with. It was just another day as usual when I arrived home after a long day at work. With my shopping bags from Jusco, I clutched them & walked tiredly to my room. Everyone was immersed in their daily routine - watching TV, reading newspaper, sleeping etc. By 11pm, most of my family were already sound asleep. I went to bed early as I was pretty much exhausted.

A loud screaming had woke me up from my slumber. Feeling puzzled, I went to the source of the loud voice. To my horror, I saw grandpa lying stiffly on his bed while Dad & cousin bro was calling out his name loudly. His left part of the body was paralysed from head to toe; leaving his mouth wide open. His breathing was hard & had a loud cracking sound. Grandpa was partially unconscious & we knew that this ain't a good sign. We had to call the ambulance.

Upon contacting the ambulance, we were notified that they need 10 mins to arrive. We couldn't wait any longer & decided to rush grandpa to the hospital. Once in the emergency room, he continued to shake vigorously - his right arm extending stiffly towards us - asking for comfort & support. While a doctor & nurses treated him, we waited outside anxiously & I couldn't control the tears streaming down my cheeks. We thought he wouldn't have survived the ordeal in another 24 hours.

The X-ray scans showed that grandpa suffered internal bleeding in the brain; in laymen term - stroke. The doctor commented that his case is moderately severe & is to be sent to ICU for special attention. The whole family could hardly sleep a wink last night. Who could when such incident happened? We're only hoping for the best. Lets keep our fingers crossed...

Happy 2010!

Another year has gone by so quickly that it's time to usher a brand new year. This year's New Year's Eve was different for me cuz instead of staying at home, I was out celebrating with WL & his family. It was a gathering of two celebrations - birthday of WL's 2nd brother & welcoming of year 2010.

Food choices were kept to minimal to avoid wastage. And so we had a joyous eating session with buckets of KFC & fried mee hoon to whet our hungry appetites. I left after having a mini slice of the cheese cake; minutes before the clock struck 12am.

While on the way home, the traffic slowed down on the highway somewhere in Klang. Little did we expect that majority of the motorists pulled over to the side to watch...fireworks! Then only it dawned on us that it was already midnight. It's 2010~ Not wanting to miss the fun, WL parked the car & we both witness the fireworks lighting up from various location.

And we kissed.

What better way to celebrate new year with someone dearest to you? It was simply beautiful & definitely a night to remember. Indeed a good way to start a happy 2010!

Arrival of my new baby

The long wait is finally over. After almost 3 weeks to a month of not having one, I sighed with relief that I no longer need to go through an excruciatingly painful torture wait another few donkey years for it; feeling deprived. =P

The thing that has kept me excited for the past few days is nothing other than my brand new lappie!

Dell Studio 1450!

I just don't know how to express how delighted I am to be able to afford a lappie for myself. If it wasn't due to my old Compaq in the brink of death, I wouldn't have bothered getting a new one. So it was out of desperate measures that I've decided to place order on Dell's website. And thankfully, my patience paid off as I obtained a pretty good deal over the PC Fair weekend - minus the queues & hassles.

With the bright LED screen measuring at 14" & weighing only 2.4kg, my baby is has everything that I needed or perhaps a little bit more. It is running on the Windows 7 platform & has been showing good signs of stability after 3 weeks of usage.

I supposed the only thing that made me the happiest that I purchased my baby at a really attractve price. Not too pricey, not too cheap that the performance is compromised - at least I'm satisfied. And *tsk tsk*...I no longer need to fight with my sis for the computer. =)

Walking the aisle at Kluang

Christmas is one of the best time for get-togethers, reunions & lots of partying as the year end draws close. December is also probably the best time for couples to tie the knot as it is an auspicious month in the lunar calendar. I was invited, together with WL to our colleague to attend his holy matrimony. And guess what, his wedding will be held all the way in Kluang!

The best thing about attending this wedding is that I'm travelling with WL to a small town for the first time. As soon as we arrived, we checked in at a hotel - apparently the one & only luxurious hotel you can find in that humble town. Well, what more can you expect? We happened to get a room overlooking the river that flows across the town.

Being the only five-star hotel in Kluang, we were shocked to come across with poorly maintained fixtures & furnitures. Not to forget the odd smell upon entering our rooms. I had to remind myself many times this is a small town, remember that. At least we still have proper shelter to sleep through the night.

In case you didn't know, wedding receptions in small towns are commonly held in the day - or rather noon to be more precise. This is to avoid having friends & relatives to travel back late at night should they choose not to pay for accommodation. With little time to prepare, WL took quick showers while I started working on my makeup. And off we go to the ballroom where the wedding reception will be held.

The food served was the usual Chinese eight course dinner. Of course, we can never forget the camwhoring activity that keeps us from feeling bored while waiting for the next dish to be served.

There you have it, the bride & groom cutting the cake.

More camwhoring...

Last but not least, a picture of us with the newly weds. =)

Later in the evening, we went to the bride's house for BBQ session. As usual, food was pretty okay but we were served with lots & lots of Justea drinks. -.-" I supposed the BBQ food wasn't hygiene enough that WL ended up with a stomach upset. I was dehydrated & lacked sleep, hence with the bad headache. We had no choice but to stay on in the hotel instead of waking up early to join the rest of them for kopitiam breakfast at the famous Kluang station.

Then, what did we have for breakfast? Eventually we settle for buffet breakfast at the hotel cafetaria. With my hunger pang hitting in, I couldn't resist feasting on different kinds of dishes despite the lack of appetizing meals.

We left Kluang later in the morning; me dozing off in the car most of the time while WL drove quietly. He was driving relatively faster than the day before, hoping to reach home faster. Overall, it was an interesting & fun experience to be able to attend weddings like this with WL. Even though this wasn't exactly our own holiday trip, it made us felt like we're a couple. A "newly wedded couople". XD

The un-heroic storm warriors

The poster was cool & the trailer was effing cool that everyone expected the movie to be a kick-ass. Like awesomely good. They were wrong. I was wrong too. How could this happen?? It was so incredibly disastrous that I simply couldn't believe myself & WL sitting through 2 hours just to digest the plot.

What went wrong? Sadly speaking, the production team focused too much on bringing the comic to life with loads of CGIs that it neglected on the feelings & stories behind the characters. Furthermore, there was a serious lack of interaction between characters; dialogues were mostly one-sentence while the entire action sequences were overtly exaggerated.

When you watch the movie, you'll notice that the CGI sequences resembled one Hollywood movie a lot. That's right! It looked exactly like the Spartan themed 300, unfortunately. With loads of slow motion scenes squeezed into the 2 hour movie, one can imagine how dull & boring it can get. Having weirdly translated Malay subtitles (ie Penjejak Awan equivalent to Striding Cloud) flashing across the screen was already annoying, there you have Charlene Choi as Second Dream (oh what a name! -_-") always calling out to Wind & nothing else. What the heck~

Please, please...don't go wasting your precious time & money to catch this in the cinemas. In fact, it's not even worth your time spent watching a pirated DVD at home. It's THAT bad...

People of the media industry

Being part of the marketing industry can actually provide an individual a life full of excitement & bizarre events. You meet people from all walks of life - not only of different backgrounds but personalities too. For instance, this media guy who is affiliated to our agency was at our place for a quick presentation by representatives from the radio station.

He was transferring a presentation deck to my thumb drive so that my manager & I could look through it just in case our CEO might start questioning for our opinions. Coincidentally, he saw a movie clip of Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans (I think...can't remember -_-") & casually asked..."can I have that, please?"

I was taken by surprise as it was such a hilarious moment. I was like..."Sure, go ahead. Since you've asked..." Haha! It's no biggie, really. But just so funny =P. Never thought that I would encounter such random moments with someone I'm not personally close to. Perhaps that made he & I close up the gap as working partners. Interesting...*chuckles*