Food for thought

An experiment with jello led to this rather intriguing piece of art.

BTW...I'm now the proud owner of the new Archer book. Saving it for the weekend. Perhaps I should finish it before the new year. 3 more days folks before 2006 comes a knocking.

Lessons to learn...

When you've set your eyes on a book, listen to your heart and buy the damm thing. Don't compromise with other books. This is exactly what I did the week before christmas and since then I've been wading through my present book. I can hardly blame the present book for failing to entertain me to the fullest. I suspect it's my subconcious mind, preventing me from enjoying my book. I intend to rectify this problem by buying the very book which I've been obsessing over ever since I turned the first page in the bookstore... False Impression by Jeffrey Archer,

And by doing this, may I finally be allowed to enjoy a good read and be transported to another world...instead of the jerky visits I've been made to put up with.

Happy Christmas and a merry new year!!

May I just say how glorious it is to be home for christmas?? Merry christmas...I've gone for mass...ate loads during the christmas party and am now an extremely satisfied human.

Around the corner..

I think of myself as an optimist...to the point of pollyanna-ism. And so I look forward to this christmas break quite a bit. Apart from the obvious eating I'll be doing...there's the reintroduction to my own things at home. I hope one day to be able to ( like ALICE of the wonderland ) think of ten impossible things before getting out of bed.

A good lunch

I ate the lot. 13 minutes and 2 seconds into the meal, my brains started being deprived of blood. It's true, carbohydrates suck the blood away from your brains and leave you not only sluggish but cranky when forced to go on shopping. 

Defining Malaysians

We lepak In a good way. This is us on a cool saturday afternoon in the KLCC park doing what we enjoy. Sitting down and enjoying the very moment we're in instead of hurrying through shopping...talking endlessly on my handphones or even chatting incessantly to friends. This is us doing what we enjoy. 

And the winner is...

Would anyone like to hazard a guess as to what this greenish substance is? ( those of you present during tea today are cheerly disqualified and BANNED from guessing ) 

Goooey

I love telur mata kerbau. A little poke and the yoke squishes out and oozes. When we were younger, my brother and I had half boiled eggs for breakfast every day...until the brother convinced mum he saw a chicken's wing in his morning breakfast. Being younger and impressionable....I opted to believe him. Our morning menu changed to bread and cheese instead. 

What are you waiting for?

It is hard in a few words to describe the exact taste of roti tissue. I shan't waste your time by indulging in a namby-pamby description two paragraphs long with no substance in between. If the overall enjoyment of meal, I need only say ....it was extremely satisfactory.There simple, womanly and refreshingly honest.Pictured above is Adda......whose wide smile confirms the delectable taste.

Narnia

You will enjoy "The Chronicles of Narnia" as much as I did, because it really is a lovely movie to have watched. One of the rare times I thank my shoddy powers of retention. Despite having read the book...many parts were refreshingly new to me. Of the 4 children....my favourite is Lucy. Edmund is a real stinker and I don't much care for him. Oh yes and I quite liked the Faun as well.

The stuff of dreams!

We had a good meal at "Little Penang Cafe" this afternoon. Between the four of us, the wee table we were seated at looked full of plates, glasses, forks, spoons,chopsticks and elbows. I opted for a cleansing glass of chinese tea whilst the others had more diabetic-inducing drinks. It was hard to decide on what to eat. ( At this point, having 4 stomachs seemed appealing.)

My feet hurt. It's those awful heels. They say women withstand great pain in the name of beauty. And whoever "they" are...they're absolutely right. I'm now seated slouched at the pc with my poor feet up. There's a nagging ache from the ankle down and a very definitely wincing-type pain from the left ball of the feet. *oouch* Oooh just had a thought, would manolo blahniks cost less pain?

A healthy diet!

Guess what's in the papers this morning?? That's right, an article about healthy eating....the japanese way. The next obvious step for any sensible being who has aspirations to live to 89 years old...is to find the nearest Japanese restaurant and be a frequent diner there. ( And for those of you who cook...buy a book on japanese cooking ) Guess I'd better get used to the odd pong every now and again. A small price to pay for clear arteries and botox-like wrinkled free skin.

Please tell me what this is..

I went to KLCC with a purpose. And no it wasn't to spend money on self. I'd promised to buy cookies as a backup plan just in case we're hounded with guests ( a high possibility ) over the christmas holiday. Not only has Liz Claiborne ( refer to other blog "snob" for further details ) disappeared from the face of KLCC.... the cookie corner has now been taken over by Haagen Dazz. As much as I'm a fan of HD ice-cream I was miffed to return home cookie-less.

Dinner was Nippon blah blah japanese. Interesting although there was a small bowl beside me with strands of pickles reeking of wet socks. That certainly put a damper on the appetite. No complains re salmon. Once again salmon and wet socks don't go at all well together.

The picture above is of the other bowl to my left. Looked dodgy but it tastes extremely delightful. I savoured every morsel and ignored the wet sock pong to my right.

An odd combination

I ventured out of my comfort zone last weekend and bravely tried this combination of watermelon and green apple juice. the "zing" effect from the first slurp was addictive. I believe I NOW have a new favourite drink.

Aaaargh

Some days you just feel like yelling your head off. Today is just such a day for me. Now I'm off to do some reading and sip guava juice. For 15 minutes I'm going to pretend I'm in some far away resort with no stress....no bloody handphones...just the sound of waves splashing on the shore with the light cool evening breeze caressing my cheek as it makes its way to the other end of the world.

Thanks for the well wishes....I'm finally rid of the fever...pseudo-migraine and the diarrhoea. ( All that fuss and not even 0.5Kg lighter...Hrrrummmmph)

Which will it be...

A quick trip to Body Shop ..... became a prolonged visit. I sniffed my way through most of the essential arometherapy oils ( my sensitive nose denies me the pleasure of having this contraption at home) . I mulled over the idea. The salesperson politely mulled over the idea together. The pace changed somewhat when faced with shower gels. ( Not allergic to them..therefore..potential buys make the heart go pitter patter )Furiously worked my nose through them all. After 4 consecutive sneezes....I decided on these three.

Mee Kari!

Somebody has promised us a meal:) I'm hoping this post does the trick.

Health is wealth

I have been in a horizontal position for the better part of the day. That's right being struck down with the "flu-bug" whatever that is. Let me just remind those out there who haven't been ill for some time...that health is INDEED wealth. It's 8:30pm and I'm 80% well and a 102% grateful to be so.

There's an indentation on the right side of the bed thanks to the good ole bum sinking in there for 10 hours straight. The bedroom is in a right mess. I have two mags and a story book to my right. There's a container with grape seeds in them on the floor. A plate with a used tissue , am empty mug, a vitamin bottle ( now empty of course ) and a bottle of "happy legs" leg cream by biotherm. Oh and I'm still in my jammies....just in case I need to sleep suddenly. Do I sound like a right royal mess yet?

Love Actually....

My favourite scene is the part....where the mother says..."eight is a lot of legs David " in a cockney accent. Makes me laugh each and every time I hear that line. Would you believe I saw the movie twice in the one day? The DVD has since lost itself in the graveyard of DVDs. We're not famed for being organized as a general rule. What I did today, to rectify the problem was to go out and purchase the soundtrack of "Love Actually". As I still harbour a secret hope the DVD would actually re-appear ...I didn't see the point having two copies.

Right after I finish this current CD ( Double Take....) I'm going to pop in the soundtrack and enjoy.

With the grace of God.

I've had a deep-rooted psychological fear about failing for some time now. But today I have good reason to celebrate. Congratulations to the whole group of us who slogged it through loads of adrenaline surges and panic attacks as well as all those late night palpitations and awful nighmares during REM sleep.

And so the next task on hand would be to
1. spend an obscene amount of money ( preferably other people's if at all possible )

2. Have a decent pedicure in an outlandish colour.

3.Have scalp treatment before I enter the realms of near-baldness.

4.Read at least 3 books simultaneously. ( Marian Keyes here I come!!!)

5. Buy the entire season of desperate housewives and watch it in the one sitting. ( And expect a roaring headache as a sequelae)

6. Re-enter the world of Yoga after an abscence of nearly one and a half months. ( psssst I can just about touch my toes...an indication of my new-found enduring flexibility )

Now if you think I should do anything else .....

A little luxury

Oddly enough and in sharp contrast to my usual taste .....I find myself a great fan of Frasier. And fittingly....I am watching it right now as a way of de-stressing after a whole day of intellectual stimulation. A perfect end to an ordinary day.

Read This....

Where rainbows end.
BY CECELIA AHERN.

Ahern 's second book is a good read. Forget the awful rumours that she paid somebody to write for her. And also ignore the sad sods who say she is using her connections as the Irish's PM's daughter to get her started. This is a pretty damm good book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Most people use the phrase " couldn't put it down" lightly...I do not. I couldn't put it down.

From chaos to calm

Our brain is like a network of fibres...interconnected in a terrifically complex manner. It's amazing how we remember things. So here's my tribute to the good old brain...don't fail me now.

Cut your stress in half...

This is a great picture....shopping for papayas in your backyard during raya. That's what I would label this picture as. The cheeky idea of plopping it into a Jaya Jusco plastic bag....kinda winds it up as the most fun thing we've done in some months. Comic relief!!!

We walk...like we drive.

Today is Hari Raya Eve, a day where the workplace is eerily devoid of humans...and getting a parking spot isn't a problem at all. I left way before the designated politically correct time to to so and made my way to KLCC. ( yes again! ) I believe it is a sign of maturity.....what other explanation can there be for justifying leaving work early to shop?? As expected...( I never learn do I )KLCC was the full of last-minute shoppers.

I've only just realised that people walk very much like they drive. Some more polite ones...especially the ones coming towards you in the opposite direction would look up, register that there is on coming traffic and politely steer self away. Other more daring ones would register...but walk stubbornly in your path, forcing you to move away and in the process get into some other person's path igniting wrath there. Others bursts into your path without so much as a look prompting you to side-step at the very last minute so as to avoid them entering your body buffer zone.

And then there are the folks who insist on holding hands...and walking through you...leaving you two obvious choices...break the chain...or move 3 steps to the side. *shake head* As in driving...where bigger cars win....people with higher BMI and baby strollers win. You'ld be stupid to assume you can walk though a baby stroller unscatched. Very stupid in fact.

I would like to wish everyone a very happy "Selamat Hari Raya Puasa".

A hectic week

The festive season is looming ahead. This is the last weekend before Hari Raya Puasa, and so practically anyone and everyone is out with full force, spending an obscene amount of money. While others are relegated to the sidelines...merely observing. Roads to avoid would be....any road leading to the city center of particular note would be the infamous Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman.....this would be a good time to experiment with public transport. Friday evening traffic was bad. My yearning for a good meal led me to KLCC. I certainly did not enjoy the drive there nor the gloomy wait for a parking sport. Neither did I enjoy waiting for the friend to arrive for dinner. I had to dodge people as I walked towards the escalator and even having a cuppa was marred by the keen smoker positioned behind me. I decided to take a picture of KLCC....without any human life-form. ( picture above)

For the sake of completeness ...I should like to say my trip wasn't totally tinged with gloom. I bought three magazines. Two trashy mags with no intellectual stimulation whatsoever ( they're the best ones really aren't they?) and one boringly factual magazine which featured "bird flu...is there going to be a pandemic?" Couldn't resist such a title.

How do you remember roads?

I've always found it helpful to remember landmarks. For instance...you'ld see a "celcom" advert just before you take the wee tunnel and then you'ld be keeping to your left ( with the Shell petrol station on your left ) until you reach the "chinese assembly hall" which is a white building on your left where you'ld turn left...and then there's a bus stop on your left just after you turn where you would loop around and squeeze into the left lane again where you would go up and then you'ld want to keep straight on....

That's part of my directions to friends on how to get back to my place. I wonder how everyone else would say it? BTW road names are absolutely uselesss. Where is Jalan Hang Jebat in relation to Jalan Tun Razak for instance.

A nation in mourning

The prime minister's wife Datin Seri Endon Mahmood passed away this morning after losing her battle to breast cancer. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer about 5 years ago and had lost her twin to the same disease in 2003. Her death comes as a shock to Malaysians as more recent reports have down played her illness . It has been only 18 days since she returned from the states after undergoing chemotherapy there. May her soul rest in peace.

Hopes & Fears

Hopes

I hope that every bit of important information I gather from now until the 21st of NOV remains in my mind.

I hope nobody notices I've lost one mud flap from the car. And if they do, I hope they continue to pretend not to have seen the assymmetry.

I hope I can spend more time doing what i like ie yoga , reading and shopping...in no particular order. I especially like reading PG Wodehouse and Enid blyton. Wodehouse during day time and E Blyton during meals and toilet-visits. ( refer to KATE FOX on bog reading ) My next read would be Marian Keye's latest book.....

Fears

I fear gettting early alzheimers. I also fear becoming overweight and having my double chin increase in size and number....but one can diet whilst getting a brain transplant would only occur in the simpsons.

I fear the contents of the chicken rice I had for lunch today. There wasn't much choice, It was between THAT and the sorry looking muffin in the basket....which was there yesterday and probably the day before. BTW, chicken rice ( savoury ) and chocolate milk ( not savoury ) creates havoc when mixed together in the tummy. Please void this combination in future.

I'm terrified of snakes. I deal with my fear of them by simple avoidance of anything snake-related. Any page with a snake on it is firmly stapled....to ensure it doesn't get viewed accidentally when I'm at my most vulnerable...ie bedtime reading. I went through a phase where I would have to look under the bed before sleeping just to make myself happy.

I'm frightened of losing hair and becoming bald but I think that's quite rational.

Desperate housewives

Who is your favourite character? Felicity Huffman aka Lynette wins hands down in my mind. She's about as real as you can get. The rest of the cast fade in comparison. Botox Bree isn't too dusty either. It's aired every Toosday night on Channel eight. That's the highlight of the week for me. Damm it's Thursday...4 more days to the next episode.

Alternatively I could buy the entire first season on VCD....

Public transport

Public transport makes me cringe. It brings to mind sweaty armpits and fat hairy men. I 'm not sure why it appears in this combination but it does. KL Sentral was buzzing with people this evening. It had rained earlier in the day and the downpour had fizzled into one of those mist-like-spray.I love gloomy evenings.....especially after a rain. It's like the sky has had a good cry and is all ready to go. Malaysians tend to moan about taking public transport. Well, for those of you who insist public transport is shitty....( as Jennifer aniston would say ) "TURN THE PAGE".

My trip to Midvalley shopping mall was painless. If I'd driven, finding a park would have made me crabby for sure. I used my "touch and go" card for the kommuter for the first time ever this evening. Exciting!!I touched....and ....it beeped twice ( there were instructions written thankfully ) and the gate swung open. I certainly got a great big buzz from this new unfamilliar technology. One of the things which amuses me is the ability of small things to make me feel good. This being a classic example of a feel-good-factor arising from a simple task.I might just begin taking public transport now.

I wouldn't mind having this for lunch

Nasi lemak is a staple breakfast for most folks who don't give a hoot re expanding waistlines and clogged arteries. The bookstore called affectionately "Ko-op" sells a mean-nasi lemak. And I've been tempted loads of times from the path of righteousness and promptly hopped onto the path of gluttony. The rice needs to be fluffy with just a suggestion of coconut milk. The The egg needs to be compressible and the yolk a soft yellow. The cucumber bits they stash with it has to be crunchy and 2 mm thick. Anything less would be deemed floppy. The sambal , would be a mixture of tastes. I prefer mine to be spicy and sweet with loads of shallots in them. Oh dear , I 'm in the mood for nasi lemak now. Dammit.

Love at first sniff

Whatever else you do, remember to hydrate self after the meal, detoxyfying is of the utmost importance. Otherwise the whiff surrounds you like a cloud of doom. A small and negligle price to pay for what I believe is a taste liken to the sip of good wine. I am of course referring to the local delicacy of "sambal petai". It's got an odd texture, rubbery after the initial crunch.

Feeling Eeyorish

It's official. I'm down with the flu. What was initially an allergy has turned into a full blown nagging leaky-nose-sniffles sort of day.

Will that be snow-wash miss??

I've finally gone one step closer to my ideal world...got the car washed after three long dusty weeks. For any of you out there who've read Kate Fox's book..( refer to earlier entry ) you'll understand the statement: I have now reached the rank of lower-middle class.

It's a gloriously sunny saturday morning. A few things have gone right....

1. Car is washed. Am no longer embarrassed to park where people can see me coming OUT of the car. ( hands up those who've never felt like this before.....)
2.I am having sambal petai for lunch.
3.I've stopped sneezing since 11:00am

Sneezing tires me out no end. Lunch was interspered with at least 10 sneezes. Having a leaky nose upsets me. I had to coordinate the movement of spoon to mouth, hand to tissure, hand to drink hand to tissue again...and spoon to mouth gulp gulp.

Memory space exceeded...is that possible?

I am currently in an upright position. This after being horizontal for the better part of the evening. There's the blasted reading to be done. And I have to be able to to regurgitate them out in a convincing matter. It CAN be done.

In an ideal world....
1. I would be able to play the violin like Vanessa-Mae
2. Touching my toes would be a breeze..instead of an achievement
3. Patience would be a virtue I embrace cheerfully on a daily basis so help me god.
4. My car would auto-wash itself....weekly instead of making me drive about in vain looking for the nearest auto-wash.
5. I would own a plasma TV ...and have astro....
6. The last boyfriend I had would rot cheerfully.
7. My hair would stop dropping. ( > 100 per day is pathological...havent gotten around to counting...but I believe it has reached the ranks of near pathological)
8. There would be a parking space reserved just for me at work.
9. They would open up a new road which would lead straight to WORK. And I would be the 1 out of 30 people using it most mornings.
10.........to be continued.

Missing...one sock

Apparently, it is quite the norm to sleep with a pair of socks on..and wake up with only one left. I had the experience last week. It's been 4 days and I'm still one sock short. For those smarty pants out there wondering why the bloody hell I sleep with socks....

I had decided to moisturize the corns. Have you ever tired walking with moisturized feet? It's no easy task. In fact, it is next to impossible. With grit determination, I crawled to the chest of drawers to wear me a pair of socks. ( explanation done)

And if you can't decide......

Make sure your friends have a packet of amos cookies each. It saves the bother of being polite. It also then makes it socially acceptable to be selfish and eat them ALL yourself.

A mouthful of cookies

The best way to eat famous amos cookies is simple. Straight out of the packet. No namby pamby plate needed.You may choose to eat it with friends but be cautious. Gastronomic philistines are definite no nos. I still have my packet ....it's sitting on the dining table.

What I'm reading...

This is a lovely book by Fox. It studies and dissects the English Eccentricities.

Why is this a smart car??

IMHO....
1.smart people eat less...so they fit into this wee car comfortably
2.smart people can't park. Therefore a smaller car is absolutely essential for buzzing about town.
3.smart people can't multi-task friends. They can only handle one friend per car ride.
4.smart people assume good things come in small packages

An empty desk is an empty mind

By virture of the above saying...my mind would qualify as being very much full...albeit a little messy. This is ...( or should function as ) my dining table. It has a lovely red runner ( a gift from an aunt as a housewarming pressie ) Unfortunately, the runner hasn't seen the light of day for many moons. Remind me to tidy the table before I sleep tonight.

A piece of cake..literally

Canteen food is always dodgy. But when you have this urge for carbs, nothing else matters. The above is one of the reasons I shy away from cakes sold at the local cafetaria. ( must give it its proper name ) I remember well, we couldn't decide whether it was edible or not. Hunger won. I'm still alive to tell the story.

Problems getting up!!

Does stress make one sleepy?? Maybe this is my subconsious mind working. For the last week or so, I've been consistently late for work. And yesterday reached its nadir of late-ness, I was relegated to the weeny spot in front of the rubbish cart. A girl arrived two minutes later and promptly squeezed into the spot to the left. Due to selfish reasons, I wore my car-park attendent cap and proceeded with many hand gestures and mouth grimaces to help her oil her car into this rather tight spot. This she did...not without a couple of close shaves coming within an inch of kissing my car. With bated breath I watched, as she turned the wheels.

If only the carpark would be as empty as the picture above, which incidentally was taken on a sunny sunday afternoon. Wishful thinking on my part.

The heliotrope trend spills over...

Studying is such a boring thing. Especially when you attempt to recall what you've read in the last hour...only to admit to NOT remembering very much. I'm not sure how many of you out there will admit to this, but let me be the first to confess to the fact; studying more than 20 minutes tires me out no end. I usually flop on the bed at this stage. But in the company of friends, ( picture above..names withheld ) I take pictures to ease the boredom of reading.

Heliotrope is the new black

I went for my second ever "hot" yoga class this evening. My heliotrope pants made its debut. I now know what it's like to have a personal yoga tutor. For some odd reason, there were only two other people in the class making it a grand total of 4 people. ( teacher included )I took a peek at the other two at the begining of class...I must say they looked fit and trim.

And with such low mood I set about stretching and breathing. Vivian took us through the steps. We sat ....inhaled...exhaled....lifted arms....exhaled....and so the session began. As I had forseen...mine was the most inflexible body in the room. Thankfully the heliotrope pants made up somewhat for my lack of agility.

Today I learnt yet another variation of the tree pose. And as always, my tree swayed somewhat from side to side...finally ending with the roots coming off mid session. Terrifically embarrasing and you can double that feeling by virture of this being a small and cosy class.

I had great plans to buy a yoga mat. There was a delectable pink mat ....but as luck would have it the blasted thing was out of stock. Black seemed a little funeral-like and I do like my mood uplifted during my stretches. There was the boring blue as a back-up colour but I peevishly ignored that and opted to sit it out and wait.I wonder whether NIKE does yoga mats. That swoosh at the edge of the mat would complete the look I believe. Nope..it will have to be pink to match the couch in the hall. Coordination is the key element to a good Feng Shui. Shucks to Lilian Too ...I can do a spot of feng shui too every once in a while. So There!!