Wednesday Tune

Love 911 - NOEL

Who doesn't love a feisty girl? And abs. Fast becoming a fan of NOEL.

Update: The above is the OST of the movie by the same title: Love 911 (2012).

Sweet, simple and cute. xx

10 Things You (Probably) Don't Know About Me

Because I find reasonable amounts of self disclosure healthy. =)

1. I recently learnt how to cook an egg using the microwave and it is perhaps one of the best things that has happened to me because now I can cook myself an egg even when the kitchen is locked up!

2. Contrary to the norm, I don't like it when people comment that my hair is very brown. Yes, I do color my hair, quite often actually - Liese Bubble hair color is another great product because it is absolutely fuss free and easy to manage, but hair dye colors don't last very long on my hair and it always fades into this light blonde brown, much against my wishes.

3. I always prefer to have milk in my coffee or tea. I've even tried it with green tea, but that didn't work out so well.

4. Recently, I keep catching myself thinking about "Loving the sinner, hate the sin". So I decided to Google it (yes, I google a lot of things), and I came across this article, which I think EVERYONE should read. Here it is (again), if you didn't click on the "article" earlier.

5. I love shopping for groceries! I can spend 10 minutes walking the tissue/ toilet paper aisle thinking which is the best tissue/ toilet paper to buy. Which is exactly why I don't shop for groceries much. I waste too much time deciding.

6. When I drive alone, I totally believe I'm a competent driver. But when I have passengers, my driving is questionable.

7. I purposely don't color my toenails so they are left unattractive so that I will deliberately wear shoes instead of slippers when I go out.

8. I love Japanese / Korean rice. And mushrooms. And avocado. And sweet potato fries. And..

9. I went window shopping a couple of days ago and was trying on some winter jackets (on the premise that I'll be in Seoul for winter) though I bought absolutely nothing, and I really wished that I lived in a cold country and I can already hear myself regretting wishing that in the first place. But that doesn't change that fact that them winter jackets are so pretty!

10. Mom had me go look for a slow cooker, and not knowing what it looks like, I just went around asking random stalls if they had a slow cooker, most of them said they only have pressure cookers. What's the difference?! Imma go Google that now.

Fantastic - Henry

"Girl, you're fantastic. You know that?"
Thank you Henry, I do happen to know that. :D

I amuse myself sometimes. xx

Happy Deepavali & A Mini Food Review

Inet is sucky today. =(

Happy Deepavali everybody! I had the chance to feast on some extraordinary mutton curry yesterday for lunch, courtesy of a very good friend. And I wish I have the chance to wear my saree out someday soon. Coincidentally, the saree was made for the very same friend's wedding! And the saree cloth was actually purchased by another good friend of mine all the way from India. I like how one thing links to another. =)

If you've been to Mid Valley in the past week or so, you'd have seen this. If you have not, go and see it for yourself now! It's super gorgeous. I love colors, so this is something that I really really like.

Image credit: The Star

Read about Ruden Prakash (the artist) here.

I woke up thinking maybe I should compile a quick list of some of my favourite go-to food. Considering it's Deepavali today, and one of the few many things that Malaysians truly celebrate as a whole is our glorious food.

As most of my friends would know, I am not particularly adventurous when it comes to discovering new eateries, mainly because I am a creature of habit, and also because I am extremely lazy when it comes to having to drive long distances just to fill my tummy. How unnecessary.

In any case, here are some of my favourite picks, or at least the 10 that I can think of today. Keep in mind that I tend to stick to some basic rules with my choices:

1. I emphasize that distance and location plays a big part in my choices. And parking availability too.
2. I also pay attention to price (quite a fair bit) because well, I am a penny pincher that way, plus, good food doesn't always have to expensive food, or expensive food may not always be good food.
3. I totally dislike large crowds at meal times, ie, the likes of Antipodean, Burgerlab etc. (Note: their food may be good, but I personally can't justify the waiting time just to eat a meal).

So here goes!

1. Sin Lay Peng in Lucky Gardens would be my go-to 大炒 place. It's the corner lot. I've heard some friends saying the food is not great and service is bad but in all my experiences, I've only been let down once. What I typically order from them would be marmite sotong, fried egg with preserved veg, stir fry vege of any sort, spinach century egg soup, and lastly, marmite pork ribs!

2. McDonalds is my go-to comfort food of all times. Especially during their lunch and dinner set promo. Too bad that they stopped allowing free refills. I love their sundae cone, it's one of the best icecreams around (and cheap too)!

3. Marmalade in BV 1 for salads. And their pumpkin soup. And their orange duck something wrap.

4. Starbucks will remain my favourite coffee joint, because I am loyal that way. Tsk. More so I like that my RM11 will get me a decent sized coffee as compared to some hippier joints where RM11 (or more) will reward you with two sips of coffee. Then again, I am not a fussy coffee drinker so I don't take into consideration the whole origin of the beans, the roast temperature, the aroma etc.

5. My favourite roast pork place is in Pudu - Wong Mee Kee. This is the furthest I will willingly drive for food.

6. My default breakfast place is the corner lot coffee shop in Lucky Garden underneath the slightly dodgy looking massage parlour with the yellow signboard. I love their steam bread which comes with kaya and butter, or their fish head noodle soup, or wantan mee, pretty much everything is yummy.

7. Mamak food is another of my favourites. I'd go to Devi's for puri and banana leaf rice. Pelita for their sup kambing and roti canai, and Syed's in Lucky Garden for their tandoori and satay. And as with all mamak's, my favourite drink would be either a teh tarik, or a kopi tarik. Or if the weather is really hot, then the iced versions.

8. For Korean food, the typical two places I'd go to would be Uncle Lim in Hartamas, or if I'm alone and not craving for BBQ in general, Ko Hyang in the Gardens is a good place too.

9. Japanese food wise, I really enjoy Senjyu's. But they're quite pricey. I would typically skip Sushi Zanmai in Gardens because the queue is maddening though the food is decent. Sushi Tei is another good place.

10. My most recent and most favourite meal place is Beyond Veggie. I've got some real mushroom crush. I previously went to the one in Tropicana because that was the nearest to me, but now they've opened a new branch in Mid Valley! And they've got brown rice option, healthy eating so win-win. The prices are not particularly cheap though.

Of course, these are my personal opinions and I don't speak for the general public. 

P/s: I know in the earlier part of my post, I claimed that I like cheap food, and then it turns out that 50% of the things on my list are not exactly cheap. But bare in mind that out of the 10 places I've listed above, my most frequently visited places are 1, 6 & 7.

Tuesday Tune

Maybe if I spent my time more wisely, I'd have less to complain about. And perhaps if I stopped relying on others, I'd be better off too. Because then I can't fault them for all that's not right in my life.

Out Of The Woods - Taylor Swift

I like the chorus! I'd say it's enchanting. Though I'm thinking that's not the best word to describe it.

I'm off to Taiwan next week, so I spent some time planning my trip last night, and as I also have a trip to Korea due in December, I'm supposed to work on the planning too, but I noticed that there are way more detailed reviews of travels in Taiwan than Korea which makes planning for Taiwan much much easier!

Apparently my hair is more blonde than it used to be. I wonder if it time to re-color it a shade darker again, but then I should save that sum for other stuff like my expenses overseas.. Hm.

I'm now reading The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, essentially my last book of this series. I've finished David and Goliath, Blink and Outliers. And I am looking for new owners who may want to take them over.

Funny that I'm still coughing slightly. This bug has been around for long. Too long.

And I've just realized that throughout this entire year, or by the end of this year, I would've experienced the four seasons in different countries! Japan in spring, Bali + Philippines + Thailand + Singapore in summer (ha, this probably doesn't really count but let's just roll with it), autumn in Taiwan, and winter in Korea! How cool is that? :)

Alright, gotta scoot to lunch now with the ex-colleagues! xx

Time Waits For No Men

I wish for you to know that. "Was going to" and "Should have" are not things I particularly wished to hear. But if I had the power to control what should be said and should not be said in this universe, then life wouldn't quite be what it should, would it?

I do however have the power to control how I choose to react to things I hear. That, will make a difference.

I am a bit angsty today, perhaps for simple reasons such as not being able to follow through with my plans. Perhaps I am a little disappointed with myself after all. That last one can go without the perhaps.

Still undecided on a tonne of things. Frustration and sadness goes hand in hand with this one. And I guess I only have myself to take it out on, because no one deserves to take the blame for things I ultimately decided on. And same goes for all future decisions.

Maybe I am having a difficult time trusting my own judgements at this point. Maybe that's why. Either way, I trust a capable girl like myself will find answers eventually. It may take awhile, but you'll get there girl, baby steps. Baby steps.

Thank You - Roy Kim

Thank You, for everything regardless. Lovely song hey? Absolutely love it.

At least I had cake today. And too much food, too much good food. I'm feeling stuffed. xx

Raindrop

Raindrop - IU

I'm not really a rain person. But I'm thankful for it, least it clears out the haze somewhat each time. And I randomly stumbled upon the song (if you don't already know I am very much a Kpop person), thought it was really really nice!

So, I've been feeling a little under the weather, and the past couple of days has seen much of my planning for the coming days go down the drain. By factors that are quite beyond my control. I was pretty bummed about all the plans that have gone down the drain, but I guess many things in life are blessings in disguise.

Like how rain is not my favourite thing, and yet it cools the weather down and eliminates the haze. Well, you get what I mean, sorta kinda.

Friday tomorrow, TGIF! xx

Just Look Beyond The Clouds

The Sun Is Rising - Britt Nicole

This is beautiful.

I really like it when close friends call me Ai. And I think I know why. It's a term of endearment, my daddy is typically the only one who calls me that. I've come to realize that when people call me just by that, it feels like we're family.

And that's why I like it, very, very much. =)

Monday Tune

Yes, You - Standing Egg

Yay, I think I am feeling better. Finally. =)

Little Miss Sexy Voice

So Goodbye - JongHyun

This sore throat has evolved into a full blown flu now. I can take it two ways. One, I'm on the road to recovery - though it feels like I am far from it. Two, I am getting worse.

I think I'm just gonna remain positive about it.

I've got a tonne of things I want and need to do. But I can't focus. =(

Not That It's Remotely Important, But

The Courage To Love - Wanting

There are a few things I regret.

1. Not getting that black fleece jacket (which was on sale).

2. Not getting that black "relaxed" pants that made me think of super-comfy-airport-fit-which-will-keep-me-warm (which also was on sale btw).

Darn it.

The Withdrawals Are Serious With This One

So I am back from Bali with a nasty sore throat. It really hurts. =(

Here's a random photo of me at one of our dinner choices in Bali - Warung Wahaha. Noms! It was scrumptious, and frankly, quite well priced too (having checked my credit card bills this morning with the confirmation after the conversion rate).

On a sidenote: I always wondered why restaurants would put what ended up on our dinner plates as their mascots.

I believe this trip made me love Bali a lot more than the last trip I had. Perhaps because this time, we decided to stay put in one place and not do the touristy thing of trying to see the whole of Bali and get stuck in tortuous jams. We did get scammed by one of the taxi drivers to dinner though, I hope he lives well with the money he got off us. I mean so, in the sense that I hope he's not using that money to do drugs or buy cigarettes but instead to send his children to school or to buy them a nice meal or two. One can only hope.

What did I do this time, you may ask? We took surfing lessons and had a great session with our instructor from Odyssey Surf School, we had our daily foot reflexology massage at this place which I can't recall its name, we ate good food and dined at some really pretty places including The Deck followed by drinks at Potato Head Beach Club. And we stayed at the very orangey themed Harris Hotel Raya Kuta which is a bit of a distance to the beach but I guess that's how we managed to stay within the budget for accomm. They do have the most comfy beds and pillows though!

All in all, I loved the surf session, which was meant to be the highlight of the trip anyway, I wished we had the energy and determination to go back the second day but alas, we just couldn't get ourselves to. Saving it for a "next time" for sure.

In the meantime, I need a replacement throat.

Scheduled Post | Sunbathing Under Moon

Boom Clap - Charli XCX (The Fault In Our Stars OST)

x

This was not even close to being my favourite song out of the entire soundtrack, but it's certainly growing on me.

I was wondering (on the day I actually prepared this post), just why do people get together? I mean, I know why people get together, I understand that much, but why do they really choose to be together? How do they come to that conclusion that "Ahh, this person is for my lifetime.."?

I think I've been watching reading one too many kdramas for my own good. Heh. Ohwell.

Happy Tuesday! xx

Scheduled Post | Surf's Up

Waiting - Dash Berlin feat. Emma Hewitt

x

Thought this tune would be apt, considering I should be falling over and creating quite the unglam sight surfing up the waves in Bali just about now. =)

Sometimes I wonder if I keep up with this whole outdoor-tough-no nonsense-sunshiny-girl image because it's my USP. If I don't commit and stick to it, I'd lose my uniqueness. Or, am I doing all this actually because I genuinely like sunshine.

And then now I wonder if I even had to ask myself that question because the answer is obvious.

You know, just in case, you missed me. xx

By Far, My Most Favourite On Screen Couple

All For You - Seo Inguk & Eunji (Reply 1997 OST)

x

Have you ever needed to sneeze when you've got a mouthful of coffee / food? I've had that. Twice in the recent two days. Once I was at the sink, so that wasn't a big deal. The second time, I was in front of my lappie, so I had to somehow 'hold in' my sneeze. The sensation, not so cool. 

That aside, they say when you sneeze, someone's missing you. So who's that, fess up! Or just stop missing me when I've got beverage in my mouth please pretty please thanks.

What really matters? What? Being a good person does. And being happy. 

You??

Song, +3

델리스파이스 - 고백

x

1. How far would you go if you deem that you really want something? I think that would be a good base towards making (certain) decisions in life. For instance, I really want to get some sailing in within the next couple of weeks, but on the scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being not that important to 10 being I'd die if I don't do it, I think this gets a score of 4. So ah, I'm through with it.

2. In the case that the gifting seasons comes around again and I forget to mention it then, please just by me hair conditioner(s). I don't understand why a pair of shampoo and conditioner doesn't get used up at the same time, my shampoo usually lasts much longer - so it's almost to the ratio of 2 bottles of conditioner to one bottle of shampoo. So yes, please just buy me hair conditioner next time. I tend to not be fussy on brands and I typically use the ones for dry hair. Haha thank you very much in advance!

3. I much prefer myself with tanner skin. I do. And eyebrows make a whole lot of difference. It does.

我喜歡 (不,我愛)

 我喜歡 (不,我愛) - 嚴爵Yen-j

Cute cute cute! xx

If There's Such A Thing

Amnesia - 5 Seconds of Summer

Sounds to me like a chirpy emo song!