Touristy stuff

So, as I was saying about taking my man's friends around.

It started off fine, I guess. They weren't those over-enthusiastic Iwannaseetheentireislandtoday kind of tourists. So that was a lot of pressure off. But then again, the just never seemed particularly enthusiastic about anything. Taking them out for breakfast was a bit weird. They didn't want to say they wanted something they were familiar with like I don't know...McDonald's breakfast or something. But neither did they seem to be particularly keen on trying local food.

Next, we headed to the Pinang Peranakan Mansion. I'd been here once before with my friends, but we didn't take the guided tour that time. Admission to this place is RM10 for adults and RM5 for children below 12. The last time I came with my friends, we managed to ask for a student price but I think that has to be arranged beforehand. I absolutely enjoyed this place both times I'd been there. Although not everything is original to the house, the collections are quite authentic to the culture and era and the guides provide an entertaining commentary and explanation about the displays. Visitors are allowed to also walk around freely and take photos as they like.

Like anywhere else during the holidays, though, there are always horrible monsters called children-raised-by-lousy-parents. These are the ones you find stomping down the wooden staircases and jumping around the wooden upper floor while their parents ignore them until the rest of us scowl or the staff try to stop the kids. Then their parents just absently tell them "Stop it" which is doesn't actually stop them. Gosh I hate parents like that.

Next we went to the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion. This was also on the list of places my friends and I wanted to visit on our own little heritage tour the last holidays but we always ended up not going. Why? First of all, the website it self already seemed a bit like those stuck up places that just aren't that great but seem to think they're awesome. This was even more confirmed by the fact that they did not want to give any form of student discount when we emailed them asking them about it, and they weren't very nice about it in their reply either. They also only have 3 tours a day and at other times, you can't go in. That made fitting it into our schedule a bit tough. Anyways, this time J, our friend from KL wanted to go. So we did. Everything about the place screams anal. There are like signs and people repeatedly reminding you that you're not allowed to take photos inside the building, once inside the waiting area, Emily and I went looking for someone who could tell us where we could buy some drinks...only to be shooed out by staff who didn't even bother being nice about it. I mean, it seriously felt so unwelcoming. They charged us RM2 for each bottle of water without any price signs or anything of that sort.

Tourists were repeatedly reminded not to take photos, and the staffs' light 'humour' that it would cost them RM250 to arrange a photo session to be able to take photos inside the building just became really annoying sales talk after like the third time. Seriously. Once the tour started, the annoying little tour guide who reminds me of a toad basically spent like a quarter of our 1 hour tour talking crap about the original owner of the place and painted what I thought wasn't a particularly flattering picture of his descendants who sold the place to the current owners who run this business.

We then moved to the screen dividing the waiting area from the rest of the house. One of the main carvings on it was that of Fuk Luk Sau who represent wealth, health and prosperity. The tour guide continues with her really misguided talk on Feng Shui, proclaiming that yin energy is BAD and yang is GOOD. (Anybody who knows anything knows that it's not a case of good or bad, it's A BALANCE OF BOTH!) But ok we shall not debate feng shui here. Point is..she was saying all sorts of crap like telling these tourists that to Chinese the most important kind of luck is wealth, that made me realise this it's morons like this that always puts all these weird ideas in foreigners' heads.

As we move along the tour which by now is already half over before we even enter the parts of the building that we're only allowed to enter if we pay RM12, she continues to give really twisted inaccurate nuggets of information, sometimes strangely telling stories about how awesome the original owner of the house was then dissing his descendants, and most annoyingly constantly reminding everyone that there are some rooms for rent and the place is available for rental for meetings, events...blah blah... At one point she was like "We don't cook for you. If you want caterers, we will only give you a list." First of all we were all tourists not interested in looking for a place to hold meetings, and second of all, if I were a person looking for a place to hold my corporate events and she spoke to me like I'm such a moron? I'd just cross the place off my list.

The upper floor was pretty bare. There were hardly any displays or furniture up there save for one room. The rest had been turned into what looked like conference rooms. The cut and paste porcelain work? She couldn't even explain to us what they depicted. All she kept going on about was how unique they were and how they had to hire people to restore them. She basically gave some crap answer to a tourists who asked her what the scenes depicted were about.

It was all just really annoying. There was nothing to see there, you can't take photos and they've basically removed anything worth taking a photo of anyway, the staff were all annoying vultures just waiting to tell you not to take photos or touch anything and to remind you that you can take photos for RM 250 and they have 16 expensive hotel rooms and the upstairs is for rent for corporate events. ugh.

For all the same kind of architecture and all, I would definitely go to the Pinang Peranakan Mansion. We also visited the Khoo Kongsi which wasn't all that much but we were allowed to take our time to enjoy the displays and appreciate the intricate carvings and paintings. For similar stuff, you could also visith the Yap Kongsi and probably any of the other clan houses.

The weekend

So we did dress up that night. I think it went perfectly fine as far as kicking ourselves out of our wardrobe comfort zone was concerned. The party,however, was just a totally weird mashup of all sorts of themes though. We had the usual circle of people playing drinking games, though I thought starting right at the beginning of the party was a bit premature. We had the people sitting down to play Playstation...they brought the monitor and everything to the hotel. The host and her besties were all dressed up in tiny dresses, too, and yet we were asked to take part in a game of Twister. The host strangely didn't seem to want us to know she had a new boyfriend (who was around) and we ended up leaving fairly early after witnessing a bizarre downing of some JD and champagne straight from the bottle that lacked the ease of someone who's genuinely into doing these things every Saturday night. She just seemed a wee bit too determined to prove several different things to several different groups of friends.

The next day, without having fully gotten sufficient 'me time', I agreed to spend the day with my man showing his friends from uni around. I'll have to write about that next time. But rest assured, I have more to say. Most important of which is: The Cheong Fatt Tze mansion is a complete rip off. They suck. I totally don't recommend that place. There are lots of more awesome things to do on this island and many more things depicting the actual 'heritage' that are more worth seeing than that crummy place staffed by very anal people who are just trying to get more money from you at every turn and they're not even smooth about it..it was all just so crass and *shudder* Some of the things the tour guide said were even so twisted and unrepresentative of the rest of us locals that even our friend visiting from KL felt compelled to turn to the Eastern European couple next to us and tell them the stupid tour guide speaks for herself.

Time to go get dressed for what will probably be something for me to blog about next.

The wardrobe rut

Jeans and a cute top. That's about as dressed up as I know how to be. Oh and some accessories here and there. The worst part is I don't see why some girls go to class all dressed up and with loads of makeup on. It's bad enough trying to make it on time to 9am class as it is, and everybody's too busy trying to figure out what the lecturer is saying to give a damn about what you look like. And so during the semester, I usually end up not buying any pretty clothes. I'll go to the store, find something, then wonder "When would I ever wear it?" and then put it back.

Then when every holiday comes around, I tell myself it's time to get out of this rut and start dressing up. I really don't want to be that girl who just looks semi decent all the time. So this Saturday, I decided I'd finally be the girl who actually does show up in a little black dress. Except that I started worrying about the possibility that everyone else might show up in jeans. On this little island, there's no telling when you'll be under dressed or over dressed. We have women wearing prom dresses to the mall sometimes, people wearing slippers and jeans to wedding dinners (no, these were not themed weddings...they were regular formal wedding dinners!). There are also times when you go out to dinner with friends and the guys are in their usual attire - t shirts, shorts and flip flops- while the girls will range from those in jeans and a t shirt right to the girl who thought everyone was dressing up and turned up only to find she was over dressed.

So, while I very much do want to stop looking so drab, the idea of being the over dressed nutjob is terrifying. Thankfully I think I've found two others who are attempting the same thing. I'm such a dork. At my age, most girls probably know how to use their little black dress and think of it as the weapon they're most comfortable with in the wardrobe arsenal. No, make it they all seem to have a million dresses that always seem to look just right for the occasion. And here I am...needing the assurance of two other friends that we're all going to show up in LBDs together.

A little improvement

So the one day without criticising was.....somewhat successful? So I managed to stop myself from being so judgmental, verbally at least. And yes I do feel less 'toxic'. So okay I'll be trying more of this. But first let me just say...AGH!!!! TEMPTATION IS EVERYWHERE!

This morning as I was minding my own business just leaving the house for the day, the Jerk stepped out of his car and headed in to buy breakfast at the coffee shop just outside my housing area. That huge, white face and unmissable forehead thinly veiled by fringe came at me and just...AGH! It already took a lot of self control no completely ignore him and that perpetual smirk he has on his face when I saw him while I was out for dinner a few days ago...but this morning it was just...having cold water dumped on me. Why is bloody Facebook also suddenly including him in my news feed?

For anyone who doesn't quite get why some random jerk on the street gets me like this...he's not a random jerk on the street. He's the Jerk. The guy who wanted to cheat on his girlfriend. With me. And the girlfriend? My non-biological sister's (read bff's) biological sister. Which I guess kinda makes us sisters by association? Okok irrelevant. Point is...the guy makes my skin crawl. *shudder*

Then there's this other ex classmate of mine who's always been super skinny but is whining about how fat she is. No, it's not an eating disorder because she eats. She just likes to feel skinny by telling people fatter than her that she feels fat. But since I'm trying not to be so mean, I think I'll leave it at that.

Judgmental

I know I am. Very much so. Perhaps the week before the fact that I'm judgmental would be put to good use, isn't the best time to do this...but I think I should. I've decided I'm going to try being completely not judgmental all day today. That means no saying anyone/anything is stupid, dumb, any advertisement is dumb, including laughing at any public services advertisements that repeatedly mispronounce the word 'cervical'...no being mean...no rolling my eyes and calling people morons.....ok...I can do this.

Ads

Today was the first time I actually saw PETA ads in print, and sadly this makes me think that these ads aren't really creating as much awareness as they should.

Anyways some of my favourites were:

pretend to be a writer much?

Pretend to be able to put together a proper magazine much for that matter?

I flipped through this really crap magazine this morning and it was absolutely horrible I have no idea why they even bother making it. Okay, to be fair, it's mostly for this department store's promotional purposes. But then again, if they just wanted to print out a nicer catalogue and stuff, go ahead. Don't make it into some crap magazine with really lousy articles and even worse, lousy reader-submitted essays. The worst kind would be when they encourage 'heartwarming' stories.

The one I read in this issue just made me want to slap the writer and the editor (more so for the editor). It started off like the typical writings of a college kid who thinks they've got awesome vocabulary just because they've just learnt how to use the words 'paradigm shift'. There was excessive use of adverbs and really crap explanations. The writer was saying something about some old man who inspired her to change her views on things. How this poor man's misfortune opened her eyes to how lucky she was bla bla bla...and to describe this man in that oh so over dramatized way about how deep his wrinkles were bla bla bla....there was one sentence which basically said that he was so old and frail he must have been, like, sixty! Girl, at sixty, your daddy would've only just retired from his middle-management job, okay? *roll my eyes*

When I flip the page it's one of those 'How to take your look from day to night' articles. They segmented it by age but the clothes really didn't show much difference - they were all equally blah. The difference between the am look and the pm look were like, ermm...take off the jacket or just take off the leggings you're wearing under that short dress? Gee, even I could teach you that and I'm about one of the most drab dressers you'll ever meet.

Seriously! Why do people keep printing crap like this and charge us all sorts of hidden costs with our subscriptions, membership fees and whatnot to read this shit? And don't forget all the lame 'being green' articles they put in there to pretend to show corporate responsibility. If they were all that green, they'd stop wasting paper on such crap.

Btw, I don't have a problem with bimbos...love em and sometimes wish I could be more of one. It's the kinds of girls who are smart but talk out of their butts and think that they sound smart. Those, I'd like to slap and say to them "Please pick up a book or at least Wikipedia something before you open your mouth next."

Bowing

One of a series of videos on the very basics of bowing. It really starts from the very beginning, I think. Although one should probably already know how to hold a bow.

Violin Bowing Tip to Frog: Violin Bowing Techniques | eHow.com

*sighs with relief*

Finally! Exams are over! For now. I'm still finding it hard not to still be in super intense stressed out mode because every time I think about what I'll be doing for the holidays, it includes more work. But the point is, it's at a less stressful pace - or so I have to keep reminding myself.

First random act of the holidays: checked out the new mall opening. Bleh :-/ The Parkson there was disappointingly small, very few shops were open but I guess once it's properly open, it could be a pretty decent place to shop.

I'm also finding it hard to balance how much I want to go out and do stuff against just wanting to bum at home and relax. I'm thinking of canceling on watching movie with my friends tomorrow... Gina will you still watch Rapunzel with me? If I cancel on them, there'll be no one else left to watch it with me.

On a side note, I think this says something about the kinds of actual movies that are being made these days. I'm opting to watch stuff like Megamind and Rapunzel instead! Btw, Megamind was pretty fun! :)

Who is that?

I used to be the kid who didn't really bother with studying all that much. I just did enough to get by with decent grades and that was it. I think that was how it was all the way up to pre-U. But in the past three years, I guess I must've gradually evolved with each test and each semester. Now I find myself trying to stuff in the entire contents of my very messy, long-winded and structureless marketing textbook into my head. What happened to me? Even up to a year ago, I don't think I was this nuts and I would've had more faith in my reasoning abilities. When did I become one of those people who felt compelled to memorise everything? Slap me, Jo.

sometimes consumerism just rocks

Okay I debating consumerism is waaaay deeper than anything I'm going to say here. But just bear with me. Let me babble about it in one of my more bimbotic moments.

Recently my friends and I have been going to this coffee place, run by a sort of charitable foundation. They sell their merchandise there, where the profits, I assume, go to the running of the foundation and their cause, and they also provide a sort of cafe which is frequented mostly by students who spend the afternoon studying there. It's a nice place, with a nice ambiance, and the only thing lacking is really proper lighting I'd consider suitable for studying. But, you know, to keep the ambiance, I get it. But apparently, they can dictate where you sit, the volunteers who run the place. And apparently the tables nearer the window with lots of natural light is off limits to people who are there to study. It's only for 'guests'. Right. It was a bit of a turnoff for me. Especially when Gina and I had been sitting there for about 2hours - nobody had said anything to us when we came in, and the tables further in were all taken up anyway- and when a group of kids left, one of the volunteers actually asked us to move in there! Like, come on. I had a clear view of the entrance of the place and frankly, there weren't that many people coming in just for a drink, and those who did come definitely didn't have a problem with whatever seats were available.

The other thing that so totally annoyed me was that that same volunteer was pretty much bugging all the people who were just there for a drink. A couple came in shortly after Gina and I settled in to study. And he kept talking and talking and talking to the couple, pretty much selling their cause to them and being the kind of pushy that makes me want to run away from evangelists. It got to the point where he was trying to convince them that they should give him their address so that they needn't come all the way to give their donations - they could just have them collected every few months (Yes, I'm saying that in my head with a very cynical tone). Later after this couple had left, a teenage couple came and sat at that table. And this fella was bugging them, too! Asking how they were doing at school and what game the guy was playing on his cell phone. Urgh. I just wanted to tell the ass to just shut up. But you can't. Because he's some old guy who thinks he's making the world a better place by being a volunteer for a charitable organisation. And for that same reason, you feel bad about saying that it's hypocritical of them to provide a place for people to read and enjoy and yet insist that if you're there to study, you gotta take the crappier seats at the back.

But you see...when you go to a coffee shop... the kind where you pay about RM10 for a cup of coffee...they give you napkins made of recycled paper, unlimited drinking water, and the lovely coffee-scented environment with lots of natural light and comfy tables and chairs. Don't forget power points and WiFi. Don't forget the coffee that's actually really good and in larger quantities. Oh and yes, the staff there can't dictate where you sit. And even if they do, you can complain to management, bitch about it online and basically shut them down - and feel damn good about it. And right, they're more honest and up front about their intentions. I provide you this awesome package of product and experience in exchange for your money and continued patronage.

"You've put on weight."

I know in Chinese it's supposed to be some kind of compliment. But really, why do random acquaintances who really have no business saying much to you other than asking how you are, always feel the need to tell me I look like I've put on weight? It particularly annoys me when I know for a fact that I've lost weight.

I've lost another half kilo since the last time I talked about losing weight. Not very impressive, I know. But come on, how do you lose much weight while being chained to your desk all the time? But sigh....I met one of my first year tutors today. She can't even remember my name but oh yes, she just had to tell me that I've put on weight. WTF. What do I have to do to get people to stop saying that? Suddenly lose 10kg and look haggard?

Sigh...But it does remind me that I'm on a mission to go back to being below 60kg by the end of January. That's only another kilo to go. I'm pretty sure I can do this.

time's a-wastin'

This is most probably me just being neurotic but seriously, I just hate it that most other people at school don't seem to have a life and so I perpetually have to put the rest of my life on hold for school stuff.

This time it's about another meeting for a society next week. Except that it's on belly dance class night too. Right I know...school vs belly dance class is usually a no-brainer. But here's the thing. Our advisor has called for this meetings like 3 times this semester - and had to cancel at the last minute the previous two times. This has happened before in previous semesters. Not that I blame him...I'm pretty sure he's got pretty good reasons. But the difference is, he doesn't have to tell me his reasons. I have to tell them mine if I can't make it. And quite frankly, I don't need a pep-talk which I'm pretty sure is what the meeting's about. But well I don't think telling my school I'm going for belly dance class instead of going for a meeting I should go for is pretty smart either. And the worst part is nobody else ever says a certain time is not good for them because none of them ever seem to do anything that's not school related; with the exception of commitment-less forms of entertainment. It always makes me seem like this annoying prima donna who likes to act like she's got an entire calendar full of stuff to do. God I hate that feeling of being checkmated into submission.

friend (the verb)

My first installment on my love hate relationship with social networking. Let's face it. Grew up with it. Can't do without it. But kinda like school. It's fun to play with your friends. But the Queen Bee and her gang are out there, too. And there are people whom you'd still like to restrict from seeing photos of you at the beach or drinking (though both are not mutually exclusive)...or sharing you distaste for a lecturer in very colourful language.

Now here comes the latest bit of how social networking is encroaching, and in some ways making up for some bits that are lacking, in real life. I've yet to meet his family. Only his parents, they're the ones who live in the same state as me. But his brother, cousins and some of his friends don't. And in the time since he graduated and came back, I've been in school and so can't go anywhere with him. So apparently, in lieu of actually meeting me, they've decided they'll meet me online. By friending me. Fine with the brother...I have met him, even if it was a long long long time ago before I was even his brother's girlfriend. But the cousin....accepting this friend request basically breaks my number 1 rule of social networking - never friend anyone you've never actually met in person. While in some ways I find it nice that his family wants to get to know me whatever way they can for now (thank God the aunts haven't started), in other ways, it's just a bit....hmmm

Then again, the cousin might just need another neighbour to visit to earn points in games.

headaches

The more I study, the more tense my shoulders get, and also the more tired my eyes get.

The more tense my shoulders are, and the more tired my eyes are, the more likely I am to get a headache.

And apparently once I have a headache, the probability of the neighbour two doors down who calls himself an 'artist' deciding to continue his never ending home improvements which almost always include noisy drilling, increases exponentially.

Or the kids from next door decide to start screaming.

FML

Azio Hotel

So quickly the next holiday season is already around the corner. Well before everyone goes off for holidays again, I just have to get myself off my lazy bum and finally write this review of the hotel my friends and I stayed in in Lankawi over the Raya break. It's called Azio Hotel and Residences on Jalan Pandak Mayah 7.

It's situated at a pretty convenient location and the rooms were pretty clean...and that's where my compliments end. Oh yeah and they lent us a bottle opener.

Here are some facts about the place.

It's like a converted row of shop houses. The lower level is a duty free store owned by the same company, and you walk up to the 'hotel' area. AT the top of the stairs, you will see room doors, and the reception desk is on the left. At every room door, theres this light with the room number on it. I can't remember if it goes on or off when your key card is inside the thingy in the room. Point is, while it makes it easier for housekeeping to know if the room is occupied or not, it also makes it easier for everyone else to know. The room doors have no peep holes nor security door chains so you can't ever check who's at your door should anyone knock.

The bathroom walls are made of glass. The door is frosted, and the glass walls are covered by a shower curtain. Hot water is iffy in some of the rooms despite the new, cool-looking showers. Oh yeah...the frosted glass door doesn't lock..as in there's no lock on the door.

Staff were rude and unhelpful. This one guy in particular was so rude, lazy and lied to us about stuff (they decided to do some 'emergency' repairs to the bidet hose in my room so they'd simply packed up all our stuff and dumped them in our friends' room and insisted they'd tried to call us but couldn't get through - a complete lie since my roommate and I had been texting each other during the day. He later changed his story to "one of the other receptionists had said we'd gone island hopping and therefore they couldn't contact us" - another load of complete bull since they don't have our itinerary at all.) After refusing to answer me when I asked several times (very nicely if I might add) if they could assure us none of our stuff was missing, he had the damn balls to tell me that if I don't lower my voice, he will refuse to answer me. WTF. And what was supposed to make everything completely okay was that they gave us a replacement room. At the other end of the hallway, far, far away from the lobby and from the rest of our friends. Call me paranoid or whatever but really, how convenient that hotel staff who don't seem to think that simply packing up our stuff is a bit of a violation of privacy (for a very dodgy excuse of an emergency repair), move the only two girls in the group to a room far far away from the lobby and from our friends (recall the lack of security for the doors).

Blue Reef

Last night, we'd thought we were going to 75 degrees Celsius for dinner. First, we went to get a cake to surprise the birthday girl with. By the time we were headed to the restaurant, it was almost 7pm and pretty dark. So the first time we drove by, we wondered if we'd somehow missed the place. We only realised the place had closed down when we drove by a second time. Whoops.

Anyway, we ended up heading to Blue Reef. It's this nice little fish and chips place at Permai 32, No. 22 Lebuh Lembah Permai 4, Tanjung Bungah. To find this little business area it's located in, from the main road, turn in at this place with a sign that says F&B with a list of stuff below in print that was too small for me to read from the car.

It was Saturday night and the place was completely full! For a place that's comparatively out of the way, it's pretty popular. But we were in luck. A group of customers were just leaving and the table was big enough for the five of us. The staff were nice about having us wait a few minutes for the table to be cleared.

The food was pretty good. We had the soup of the day which was cream of tomato with garlic and basil. I had then the Fettucine with salmon (RM 21) which was great but might be a bit strong if you're not into the taste of salmon...or dairy products. The fish and chips were also lovely. It's great if you're someone like me who can't take dory (whatever that is) which is served by most places. Here, you can have a choice of three types of fish although I can't remember what the other two were. My friends had the Mahi Mahi. Gina had the pan seared salmon (RM19), which I'd also had on my first visit there. It's absolutely lovely, served with couscous. Finally the miso chicken was also pretty good.

The staff were all great: they were attentive and friendly. As usual, we'd bought the cake but hadn't thought about the fact that we had no lighter for the candle or that we hadn't been provided with a cake knife. Well, the restaurant did a lovely job of providing us both, and also paper plates and appropriate dessert spoons. They even dimmed the lights for us. When we'd arrived, I didn't even need to ask for them to keep the cake refrigerated for us. They noticed the bag and just told me they'll take care of it for me. It's a pleasant change from a few places I've been where they scowl at you, refuse to even provide you plates or stuff like that. Awesome.

erm...get out of my way...please?

Yesterday when there were only three of us at belly dancing class, I thought that it would be a really pleasant class with nobody getting in my way while dancing or blocking my view of the instructor or of myself in the mirror. But then, Rose showed up. She's nice and all but when it comes to dance class, I really, really, really cannot stand her. At first I thought she was one of those bimbotic tai tais who just don't realise what they're doing but yesterday I learnt she's got qualifications that prove she's supposed to have more brains than me.

Anyways, the studio is emptier than usual and there's plenty of room. At the beginning of the class we were at opposite ends of the room. The current song we're working on, however requires a lot of turns and thus, loads of space. So okay I get it if she wants to move closer to my end of the room to accommodate steps moving towards the right. But standing right in front of me and blocking me completely? WTF. I couldn't see the instructor, couldn't see myself and because she's fumbling around with the steps all the time, I was half worried she'd hit me or get in my way while doing the turns. And did I mention she's enormous? Like say way taller than me and about twice my width. Proportionate for her, yes. But also big enough to completely block my view of the mirror should she stand in front of me. And it just always bugs me like when there's plenty of room but someone comes so close to me that they crowd me. uuurrrrgggghhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Burger King, Penang

I finally went to the Burger King here. And frankly, I don't see what all the fuss is about. If you've never set foot out of Penang and therefore have not been able to try Burger King in other parts of the country, then okay, I can see why it's something you'd want to try. Otherwise, I fail to see why people are willing to queue all the way from the counter to the doors just for a burger. I only ended up there because we'd thought all the hype would've died down by now. But when we got there, the queue was still pretty long. But I was hungry and really didn't want drive anywhere else anymore.

It took about 20 to 30 minutes of waiting in line only to reach the counter and observe pretty erm...inexperienced workers behind the counters. I just couldn't stand the one who was refilling ice cubes at the drinks dispenser. It was just so messy and makes me worry about how clean the ice cubes that will end up in my drink are. The one at the cash register routinely forgot to give people napkins and several people in the queue ahead of me had to come back because there was some mistake or other.

The food was okay. No different from any other outlet I've been to. Except that I've now got a bit of an upset tummy...although I've got another suspect on my list for that. So I can't be sure if it was from lunch today.

My verdict: Could possibly go again eventually but I'm not in a hurry.

~insecure~

It's been a pretty nice two weeks of not teaching. My students had school exams and wanted the two weeks off. While I thought I'd find uninterrupted Saturday afternoons a nice break, I ended up practicing during the time I usually spend teaching. And I realised something...I don't think I'm all that good. I'm just having one of those times when I worry that I'm not good enough and that I'm a pretty lousy teacher. Most of the time I don't think so. I think I do a good job of getting otherwise uninterested kids engaged in the lesson and getting them to enjoy playing. But what if that's not good enough? I definitely know I'm not the best teacher as far as technique is concerned (if I were, then well all music degree programs could just close shop, no?) What if I'm not good enough?

Seriously?

Okay sometimes I really just don't get all the weird things some people are capable of doing/saying.

First up, insane things I would never dream of saying to a teacher myself.

1. "Can you just read the whole script and we record it and we'll just act it out?"

Apparently that's what one of the classes said to my German language teacher while they were discussing preparing a sketch for one of our language school events.

2. "I would throw it away."

This was apparently their response to what they would do if they were members of the audience given little potted plants from their environmentally-themed play. First of all, why throws away plants? If they didn't want it, they could easily pass it on to the next person or give it back to the cast for them to settle it. Or, since it's a tiny little plant, I'd say it's the perfect thing to put by the window in our otherwise super bare dorm rooms. Secondly, even if you were going to throw it away, who says that so bluntly to the lecturer we already know is so passionate about her cause? Seriously..

Next up,

3. "Oh yeah, it is beef."

When I asked the girl who prepared the food for the event. I always thought people knew not taking beef was pretty common. Apparently not. The beef was an unnecessary addition to mac and cheese and was nowhere mentioned in the menu.

4. "You'll have to pay for that."

When my friend went to ask where the potato salad that was to go with our mac and cheese (which we already paid for) was.

urgh

Okay seriously I just don't get why people seem to think the world revolves around them. I used to think that I'm a pretty shitty team player but I'm starting to realise that I'm still a whole lot more considerate than most of the other morons I go to school with.

Now we've got one moron who thinks that the entire team revolves around her and dares to tell me what dates she's available and therefore we should have our pre-tournament intensive trainings then. WTF. First of all, the dates of the tournament have been announced ages ago. Second, everyone's been told training is definitely for the week before that. And thirdly, she lives within the state. If anything, she should be a bit more considerate about those who live half the country away and are making another trip back just for training and to go to the tourney. Oh how nice that we should all come back, have training to suit her schedule and then rot for another week (not to mention have to pay for extra accommodations for the out of towners for an extra week) before we go to tourney. =.= Sometimes I wonder if people realise what a pain in the arse they're acting like.

Are we there yet?

We're always trying to be something. Trying to be ourselves, trying to be a better version of ourselves, trying to be something we're not...whatever. Just trying to get somewhere. But sometimes, we don't really know where 'there' is and therefore don't even know we've gotten there. Or you know, there are loads of 'theres' (ie goals) you want to reach and don't really take into account the ones you've achieved.
You know those elegant women who always look so perfectly put together with awesome hair that always smells freshly washed and have perfumes that linger lightly without threatening to choke you? Best part is, the ones I admire and want to be like most do it so effortlessly like that's just them. I've always wanted to be something like that. Perhaps not that perfect..but definitely have that awesome shampoo & perfume combo.
My shampoo is just some regular shampoo that isn't too strong so I can wash it after lab almost every day. My perfumes are all presents. But yesterday my man said the sweetest thing - that I had that awesome shampoo and perfume combination. I know it's a biased opinion, and no it wasn't coerced. He just randomly mentioned it to me just before we went hiking.
Point is, you can't ever smell yourself (except when you stink, probably...even that it has to be really bad). It's nice to know that we're usually probably what closer to what we want to be than we think.

Weekend of ripping off plasters

You know how doing things like ripping of plasters (especially if you've got bodily hair) is usually best done quickly? I think I had several figurative ones ripped off this weekend.

First was lunch with my schoolmates. First I'd asked Min to pick me up. We were going to Kopi Cine (http://www.straitscollection.com.my/Restaurants.htm) and I didn't want the hassle of having to park really far away and walking over there alone. When she got to my house, I was a little startled to see another person already in the passenger seat. Nicole =.= And right there was my first fake plastered enthusiastic smile for the afternoon. You see there were two relationships that fell apart sometime between the time we were all in school and the time we all finished our pre-u courses and went off to uni. In the subsequent division of 'assets' that go with any breakup, I somehow ended up being closer friends with the guys instead of the girls who were my friends first. Nicole was one of those two girls. But lunch was a lot less uncomfortable than I'd expected. It was good to catch up and nice to hear that some of the most awful people I knew from back then aren't doing that great. *snigger*

I knew that that night, I was supposed to go out with my man and a bunch of his friends. He'd told me it was a farewell for one of his friends who was leaving to do her Masters. What I didn't realise until that afternoon was that it was going to be a BIG gathering. How big? Big enough that his ex from back in pre-u would be there. Urgh. I had a problem with her. Big time. I'd never met her. But I hated the fact that at the time, my man and I were already friends, and I wanted him, and her being one of those slutty, cunning mean girls who do the cute innocent act that men always seem blinded by (plus they were in school together and thus had more access to him) had gotten him first. I hate girls like that. While it's nice to know that he eventaully saw things clearly, I still have no respect for such girls. So yeah. I had to come face to face with her. That didn't go so bad either.
1. She sat super far away from me and seemed less happy to see me than I was to see her.
2. Everyone else was pretty nice and some were really supportive, making sure I felt welcomed.
3. Her bf was sitting there sulking most of the time. He didn't seem to make an effort to fit in with the rest. While this doesn't have anything to do with me, I like knowing that I'm behaving better.
4. Her bf is a doppelganger for my man. Eww. And I thought I was the one who had issues. Well, at first I did. Later I mentioned it to my man. Apparently some of their other friends have noticed, too. So nope, I'm not the crazy one.

Last but not least, I met his parents as his gf for the first time. Sure, they've met me before over the years that we've been friends. But as his gf? No. We were going hiking. They decided they wanted to come along and go for a walk while we hiked. It was a semi-uncomfortable 15 minute drive for me. I had no choice. As he put it "It's just like when I come in when your parents are around."

remind me again?

When secondary school finally finished, I was so relieved to be finally rid of that school and social circle that I felt I never really fit in well with anyway. After that, I met the group of friends I really think I belong with and I've never had a doubt that keeping up with my friends from school was unnecessary. If anything, the few times I did meet up with them after that felt awkward and uncomfortable. I'd run out of things to say to them and many of them were still so close, most of the time the conversations were the middle of a story except that I hadn't been keeping up with them and therefore didn't know the beginning. I'd also usually be texting my new bff, telling her what an awful time I'm having. After awhile, I just kept making excuses not to meet up. Awhile after that, they stopped trying to call.

But then, there's always Facebook - the place where we 'keep in touch' with the people we see everyday and even those people we've probably only met once through a friend of a friend. Albums full of photos similar to those I have of me and them before I was 18 are up on Facebook with only one difference: I'm not in these newer photos. Oh yeah did I mention some of them put up our old photos, too. Except that I kept untagging them because the annoying updates that say 'so and so' (usually someome I'm not interested in knowing anymore) commented on a photo of you. Anyway, I occasionally get this odd feeling. Why on earth do all of them still get along so well? why don't I want to hang on to that large chunk of my past? I always feel this awkward in-between-ness when I think about it. On one hand I feel like I've been letting go and trying to forget a huge part of myself. After all, I've known most of these people longer than any of my other friends. But then again, I remember how it always felt to uncomfortable having to spend so much time and share so much with these people who were my friends only out of convenience. I never really understood or trusted them all that much.

To finally sort it out with myself once and for all, I finally decided to do something about it. There were those I knew I never wanted to see again, ever. And there were those who were okay. I decided I'd dip my toe into this pool and see if there was anything worth remembering or growing. At least, if not, I'd be reminded why I thought leaving them all behind was a good idea. And so, I'm going to lunch with them. I really hope it doesn't suck. At least I know the place we're having lunch at is pretty cool.

When it rains, it pours

I started off feeling like I just wanted to whine about having so much work. Then I just realised that now that I've finally finished this piece of work, I feel like going on and doing more. I'm finally in the mood to do work. Nevermind that it's 12.40am. Now if only I didn't have 9am classes every day.

$#*(#)@*!(# Moron

Are you a girl? Okay, even if you're not, you can think about this in terms of if you were a girl, or if this was your sister or girlfriend or something.
Some dude graduated from some other uni and is now working. He might be some regular guy, he might be some creep, or he might be an all out nutjob. You have no idea. He contacts the people in your (or your sister's/gf's) university society saying that he used to be part of the same thing in his uni and is interested in just staying active in the field and would like to join their meetings. Fine. But none of you or your other members have met this dude before.
One fine day, you're all planning some activity. It's out of town. In areas you're unfamiliar with. Now this activity that was being planned that's outside regular scheduled meeting times..oh you're the vice chair btw...now this activity...you didn't know about it. The chairman decided on it without telling you, let alone consulting you. And now tells you we're going and if you don't go, despite the fact that we all know you've got a prior engagement at those times, that's just you skipping yet another activity. Oh but if you don't come, that's just you skipping meetings. But wait! The chairman who failed to even keep you in the loop has a brilliant solution! That dude you all don't know wants to come along! He'll be joining them late..possibly at a time that might accommodate your prior engagement. Why I arrange for you to come with him? He can pick you up. It'll just be the two of you. All the way across the bridge and another half hour of driving in parts of town you don't know to the middle of nowhere.
=.=

Marketing

Sigh. So much for trying to lose all that weight. I've been feeling good about myself that I've finally lost some weight and my clothes are back to fitting me properly. I'm not keeping up with as much exercise now that I'm bogged down with so many classes and so much studying to do. But I'm making sure I don't put back on what I've only just lost.

But yesterday, I got the rudest smack in tha face. My student's Mum told me that I look like I've put on weight. WTH?! Here I am so happy that I've just lost some more weight and she's telling me I look fat?! Then it all came out. The reason I sometimes dislike marketers. That would be the sometimes when they try to seel you things you don't really need.

She'd just started working with one of those healthcare/wellness/Chinese medicine whatever companies. The last time we spoke at length, she was trying to tell me that I should buy whatever Chinese medicine and herbs or whatever through her or something. I suppose the blank look on my face while she rattled off all the names gave away the fact that I'm not into that stuff. Now she tells me my tummy looks bloated and is trying to sell me all those enzyme thingies and detox whatevers. Eww. While the idea of all that detox stuff is nice, I just don't quite feel all that comfortable with taking all these additional things of which I haven't quite been convinced are safe let alone beneficial.

uncertainty uncertainty

I hate it when there are so many decisions to make concurrently. And each decision is somehow dependent on the other. Like imagine those super complicated flow charts with yes go this way and no go the other way and they're all interconnected and...urgh...

Invade personal space much?

Seriously, what is with all these scary people out there these days?
About a week ago, as I was rushing to my violin class, I was stopped by this Korean woman who asked me if I had a religion. (That doesn't sound quite right. How do you ask people that? I'm just repeating what she said but I don't think that's the way to ask someone what their religion is.) I already guessed but her second question confirmed it for me. "Do you go to church?" Well, I thought after 12 years of going to Christian schools I totally knew how to handle this. "Yes." And then I started to walk away. But she wouldn't leave me alone.
Her: Do you read the bible?
Me: Yes. (Really, this isn't entirely untrue.)
Her: Then you know this....
and she opens her book to some verse from the bible and proceeds to quiz me on the meaning of it and whatnot. [Insert ironic expletive here]
Really, she was so insanely persistent. What is this evangelist doing trying to convert someone who supposedly already goes to church?! So I pretend I can't understand her and try to walk away. Which is when this other guy who has been standing by the whole time then asks me to give them my phone number. Yeah. Right. Seriously, don't people know when to stop? Btw, no I'm not against people who are very supportive of their religion. Just don't like people who try to shove it down my throat.

Recently, some creepy dude has been writing seriously creepy stuff on my bff's blog. Like seriously. He claims to be someone we went to school with. And that he's one of her exes. I was there. She had no ex by that name. And definitely none with that level of grammar. Creep. *shudder*

Week 2

Okay this is up a bit late. But all the same. I guess I'm getting a little more accustomed to my now pretty hectic schedule. Then again it could be because MY MAN IS BACK! It does make things seem a lot better. He's been awesome and the fact that he went to such lengths to surprise me when he got back early was just...*swoon* However, there's this annoying little fly buzzing around my ear (ok, translate: annoying girl sort of fb stalking him) that's giving me that feeling in my gut. I admit, it hasn't gotten to the point where I can make a proper claim. But seriously. What do girls do when our feminine intuition tells us something but if we were to tell our male counterparts so early on before their inferior (at such things) radars pick anything up, they'll probably think we're psycho, possessive, mean, insecure, etc. etc.? Grrr =.= I just wanna bitchslap that girl and tell her to bugger off.
Another feeling in my gut: my work is going to be like a 10 car pileup if I don't stop obsessing over such things and get back to work. Ok, more like get started on work.
Nerdying it is.

Week 1

Omg..It's only the end of my first week of semester and already I feel EXHAUSTED. Maximum number of units is 2o. At first I already thought that 18 was a bit much especially for my final year. But as of yesterday, I am taking 20 units. Why? I have to grab the opportunity that we've finally managed to round up 5 people who want to take level 3 German. Agh. And I've just read an email from our lecturer quite happily telling us that now that we're in level 3, it's high time all communication be in German.
So, now that holidays are over, how have I fared as far as my whole losing weight during the holidays thing goes? I lost a little over 2kg and my cargo pants finally fit again without any unsightly VPL. I'm pretty sure I still could use some more weight loss. Hopefully belly dancing and swimming will help keep the weight off and help me lose more weight. And hopefully all that stress that I'm already beginning to feel won't undo all the good working out does.

Changing-growing-joining the herd?

In any relationship, be it with family, friends or your significant other; some kind of compromise is always required. Putting up with parents, cutting your friends some slack or trying to plase and get along better with your boyfriend or girlfriend. So where are the lines between growing as a person, being amiable, allowing someone to change you for the better or just plain giving up too much of who you really are just for them?
When it recently became apparent how much of a goody-two-shoes a friend's man really is, I think I felt enough outrage for both my friend and I combined. It wasn't so much that he was a goody-two-shoes himself but more that he seemed to be forcing one of my partners in crime into becoming a super holy goody-two-shoes, too, without seeming to consider that he should probably be the one who needs to loosen up a wee bit. I mean seriously, I know I sound a bit idealistic when I say this but come on, not every single bit of physical contact/excitement/show of affection is a slippery slope to erm...morally questionable acts. The other thing that worried me was that my friend seemed all too happy to be someone far more repressed than she really is just to conform with what Mr. GTS wants. It worried me that she seems to be becoming one of those people who make the whole world seem perfect and have picture perfect families (we all know how that usually turns out on tv) and one day I might not even hear of her troubles, regardless of how minute, let alone be there to help her anymore. Now that is a slippery slope that scares me.
But the more I thought about it, the more I wondered. Was I, in fact, the one holding her back from growing as a person? So what if she wanted to shed a bit of her wilder side? But then again, I still very much felt a little alarmed by how easy it seemed for her to morph into what Mr. GTS felt was more appropriate. Is it too simplistic to think that well, if you find someone inappropriate, then they're not the appropriate one for you?
I still can't figure it out. Am I being the concerned friend or am I being the one who isn't allowing her friend to grow? I'm still trying to keep an open mind about it and see it both ways. And the scariest bit is what if this is exactly what happens everytime my man and I get into a huge fight when he's 'done wrong' according to me or when he diplomatically tells me that something I do bothers him?

Chivalry: Dead

I sure hope not. But I'm not holding my breath.

Our high school biology teacher is a petite woman, shorter than me even in her signature kitten heel slipers. She easily brings out the huge insectarium boxes out of the cabinet one by one until she finds the one she's looking for, ours; which she also heaves, with a bit more effort, out of the cabinet and leans it against a table. We all talk and catch up for awhile. She asks Gina and me how we're going to get it home and then decided that one of the guys should carry it to the car for us. It didn't happen.
Camera guy was leaning against the same table as the box was. So when she asked who was going to carry the box first, Singapore guy (another ex-classmate now studying in Singapore) quickly says to Camera guy, "You're nearer to it." I'll admit the box is freaking heavy. Everyone else's was made of plywood and cardboard or something, ours was custom made, out of metal. Gina had had it made and none of us had paid her anything for it, but it was definitely expensive. Anyways, all the way down the stairs, Camera guy bangs it against the stairs and I couldn't decide which was more worrying: him chipping the stairs or scratching the box. I just couldn't stand it and he took that as his excuse to essentially say "There you girls carry it yourselves." I'll admit it was a lot of effort and heavy but that's where I would've expected Singapore guy to volunteer to help.
Gina and I ended up taking turns carrying it on the long walk back to the car while carrying our own umbrellas because it was raining crazy heavily. The whole time neither of them made any attempt to take over carrying the thing, or even help us open the car door or get it into the car.
Sure, Gina and I managed it. But it makes me wonder...they couldn't have given up or avoided the task any faster. What ever happened to chivalry? Heck, what ever happened to just being plain courteous or helpful?
Make no mistake; I'm not one of those who are a disgrace to feminism and all that. I'm all for equality and equal rights and all. Truth is, if you look at it in another perspective, people who think women who expect men to carry heavier loads aren't getting with the whole feminism programme are probably either stuck in the dark ages themselves (come on, you really think how heavey a load you can carry, how far you can throw something, or just plain how strong you are determines how much rights you get? Really?!?!) or are men like my buddies Singapore guy and Camera guy who will find any lame excuse to tell girls "You go ahead and carry all that while we stand by and watch."
While I get it that being treated nicely isn't something to be expected but is more of a luxury to be pleasantly surprised by, I think all of us girls could do with being pleasantly surprised a bit more often.

Vuvuzela drone killing World Cup atmosphere - World Cup News - FOX Sports on MSN

Vuvuzela drone killing World Cup atmosphere - World Cup News - FOX Sports on MSN

I totally agree with this! The games have been so boring because...well the games haven't been awesome. And no cheering from the crowd = those of us at home don't really feel the emotion (Actually, I'm not too sure those in the stadium can really feel anything but annoyed either thanks to the constant buzzing like a swarm of flies. I really do just feel like swatting them!) And seriously, who the hell can blow on those bloody things throughout the ENTIRE match and be actually watching it at the same time? What on earth was FIFA thinking when they allowed it?

Gym Bunny

Belly dancing is starting to get challenging. After a month at it, I'm beginning to feel the need to actually practice during the week. The moves are also starting to challenge my coordination abilities and now I actually break a sweat in class. A stark contrast to the first two weeks of class where I come back with my shirt all dry.
In addition to belly dance, I've started going to the gym. While most magazine articles make it seem like everyone's got a whole hoarde of girlfriends around and all of them are just as keen on getting fit as you are and are awesome at being a motivator, I beg to differ. Finding that buddy to join you on your fitness programme isn't as easy as I'd initially thought. This week, I managed to convince Gina to come with me. However, I'm not sure if she'll ever want to come again. By the time we were done, her legs were like jelly and She was convinced she'll wake up tomorrow morning with aching arms and legs.
There were two treadmills available at the gym. One was on, the other wasn't. And we couldn't figure out how to turn it on. So we decided to start off on the elliptical trainers. After our short workout on them, Gina was ready to sit down for the rest of the afternoon. Though a wee bit dizzy from the heat, I was still pretty determined to get my ass on a treadmill and walk off some calories. However, five minutes into my little power walk, a huge sweaty stinking guy walks up to the treadmil that we'd assumed was out of order. To my dismay, he bends over and flips a tiny switch Gina and I had missed earlier and gets on. OMG! It was pure torture....10 minutes of the smell of sweat and BO....urghhhhhhhh....
Later while we were on the exercise bikes, this African guy who'd been on one of them the whole time we were there seriously couldn't stand how clueless we were anymore. He couldn't stop himself from giving hits like where the "On" button Gina yet again couldn't find was, or how I should place my feet on the pedals or how I should adjust my seat if I wanted to cycle at a higher resistance.
After only an hour at the gym, Gina could barely make it down the four steps to the weight training and locker area, and I was feeling a little woozy myself. We dragged ourselves along the wall all the way down the stairs to the car park. And the one hot guy there was like "You're done already?" as we dragged our asses to our gym bags (agh! why do I always look terrible in front of the hot ones?! More on that some other time...)
But yes, I so have to do this again. Mum actually said my ass looked big yesterday! My own Mum! The one who's never been judgemental, never told me to be on a diet in my life....this is bad...

Mizi's Bistro

A few friends and I went out to dinner at Mizi's at New World Park recently. It wasn't my first time there, but if it HAD been, I would guarantee that I would not have wanted to go back there, ever. In fact, I don't think I ever want to as it is.

At first glance, it's a nice looking place. The theme is red and brown, with cozy looking tables and one of those cool looking counters with loads of glasses hanging overhead. The owner is usually pretty friendly, too. In the past, he used to go around making sure everything was in order and customers were satisfied. Tonight, no such luck. Even as we were being greeted while walking in, he seemed like he could do with a few less customers.

This time we were given one of the two long rows of tables at the back because we were a larger group. Unfortunately, there was a nother large group taking the other row which made the area a little bit too crowded. If there's anything a restaurant can do to really annoy me, it's to cram more tables than it can comfortably accommodate. So, we had the two rows full, the other group had some small band come in and sing a few songs for them, which was just too much for the already tiny, noisy and uncomfortable space. It also included me being at risk of being bludgeoned by their guitars as they squeezed past between the two rows to get to what little open space there was to perform. For the rest of the evening, I also had waiters perpetually squeeze past because it seemed to be where they had to go to send their dirty dishes. It was uncomfortable!

Ordering also seemed a pretty difficult task as most of the staff walk around with their heads down (Hey, I know we're supposed to be nice to waiters, but if the waiters don't want to take orders or bring the check, DON'T BE A DAMN WAITER!!!), ignored us and when they finally acknowledged us, they told us to wait even though some were clearly free. I guess I didn't get the memo that said customers make orders at the convenience of the staff. The first round of orders went fairly smoothly. As we were having our starters two more of our friends arrived. They, too, were told to wait to place their orders. At the same time, the waitress came back with our main courses and plonked them on the table. We'd barely started on our soup! While you could say that's pretty quick service, I'd just say we felt like we were being rushed.
Another well meaning waitress came to attempt to take my friends' orders. Except that Qing didn't want the regular set meal. She wanted the one where you add RM6 to the a'la carte price. The waitress didn't get it. She just stood there dumbfounded at the revelation that there was such a deal on the menu. Which was when the rest of the staff that were watching basically told us to wait. WTF.

The food was so-so. My usual favourite, pumpkin soup, was pretty watered down. I had some awesome pumpkin soup somewhere the other day....I can't remember where. But okay back to point. My canneloni was pretty good. My friends' chicken dishes weren't that great. To be honest I couldn't tell the difference between one or the other. They were just bland and dry.
Would I go back? No.
If there's any consolation, J. L. Gourmet, also run by the same family, at Prangin Mall would be a better bet. The place doesn't look like much. But the food and the service is much better.

Karaoke

In the spirit of trying things we've never bothered to try, my friends and I randomly decided to go to the karaoke the other day. Well, some of us have been but some of us haven't.
It was a fairly uncomfortable outing at first. We were meeting up with a friend we hadn't seen since we finished school, although we did keep up with her via Facebook. When she showed up, I have her a quick hug which she did not even reciprocate and even when we were all talking, she was still pretty quiet. I know there are shy people out there but seriously, we were pretty ok (translate: can hug if we haven't seen each other in a long time) in school, and we used to talk. But she was so quiet around us, didn't want to tell us much about what's been going on with her, nor did she really take part in the conversation or laugh at any of the jokes for that matter. I don't know how other people feel, but people like this always make me wonder if I'm talking too much or making them feel left out.
After lunch, we couldn't find any good movie at a suitable time. The idea of going for a karaoke session together had been floating around, and Neway was just in sight from where we were checking out movie times at the cinema in Queensbay, we decided to give it a go.
It was some kind of off peak hour so it cost us RM16 per person and there's some promotion there where if you have an 8 in your IC number. you get a discount. While I've seen some blog posts about this place charging excessively for the nuts and stuff, I don't really know what other places charge. At first we were a bit freaked out when the waiter told us it was RM44 for nuts. We initially thought he meant that price was per person. But then realised that was for all of us so it didn't seem so bad. It also included a drink and a plate of snacks for each of us. The snacks could be replaced with a second drink order. Pretty expensive, but it wasn't as bad as we'd initially thought. Ms Quiet was still making me uncomfortable, though. She refused to even open her mouth at all, let alone even hold a microphone! Even my other friend Gina, who's also pretty shy, ended up singing, though pretty softly. But at least she was still sporting enough to give it a go. It was definitely more fun that I'd initially expected. But don't think I'll be a regular anytime soon. Have probably stumbled on a good thing to do should any of my girlfriends suffer some terrible breakup or something, though.

Temptation

When you finally decide to get serious and go for it, that's precisely the moment temptation seems to rear its ugly head. For years, everytime I get serious about losing weight and eating healthy, people would buy me chocolates, take me out for meals etc etc...and I hadn't even told them that I was trying to diet!



Last week, I decided to get really serious about making sure I work out every day for the rest of my holidays. But the very next day, at lunch with my family, my sister and I shared this awesome dessert with chocolate pie, ice cream, caramel and nuts and marshmallows all on a hot plate...yummm..(Photo from http://www.swensens.com.sg/) Delicious but totally not a good way to start my whole weight loss thing.


The next day, my bffs and I went out to visit a friend. After lunch, we needed a place to hang out. Like most people, we've got a few go to places and the various parts of the island. That afternoon, we happened to be in the area of out favourite Baskin Robbins outlet. Agh!


Then that very night, my parents had a craving for cheesecake. And instead of just getting a slice each, there was a whole cheesecake, small as it may be, tempting me in the refrigerator.


I've kept to the goal of working out every day. But I quite doubt I've burned any calories I haven't put back on with all that food! :(

While I still fit in clothes like this (photo from http://www.look.co.uk/) I'd very much like to look less frumpy. And with more awesome arms and shoulders. I've come to realise that empire waist dresses only do so much to hide your tummy. If you still have one under there, chances are, you tend to look a wee bit preggers.

Looking in the mirror

I don't know when or how it happened. Right until this time last year, I still felt absolutely hot, way below 60kg and didn't have skin problems. Friends have been telling me I've put on weight this year. At a family thing earlier this year, some stupid relative even assumed I was preggers. But I'd assumed it was because the dowdy woman had never seen people in empire waist dresses before. I no longer have flawless complesion either. But I didn't realise it was this bad.
I'd gone without a weighing scale for a couple of months sometime back. When I bought a new one, I figured there must've been some kind of calibration error on the old one because the new one says I've gained 5kg. But right now I'm beginning to think there wasn't anything wrong with the calibration on the last one right until the time it just gave up and refused to take any more readings at all.
"Well, it would look nicer if you didn't have all that extra weight on you. You've put on a lot, you know?" was my hair stylists reply when I asked if I should get bangs and if they would look good on me. WTF. But as he said it, I looked in the mirror and realised he wasn't all that far off the mark. When on earth did my face get so round? Like really, it went from heart shaped to...just round. And when did my skin get so....awkward high schooler - like? I wasn't even like that when i WAS in highg school. In my twenty first year, I'd gone from absolutely awesome to...this. This last semester has really taken a toll on me. I don't think I've relaxed at all since January. Neither have I gone shopping properly. "When did I get so dowdy?" is what crosses my mind many times when I'm picking out an outfit these days.
But right now, I've got about 8 weeks to get rid of all these extra kilos and sort out my wardrobe and possibly do something about my skin...although I haven't quite figured out what to do about that last one yet. But I will.

Trying to slow down

A few days ago, I argued with Josh that I wasn't going out of my way to look for work to keep myself busy during the holidays. I insisted that I do know how to enjoy myself and just take it easy. Well, now I see that I might have been wrong - agreeing to help a lecturer out with research over my holidays might have been more responsibility that I initially realised..and more work, too! I don't really know how academic research is usually carried out but I'm beginning to feel like she's setting me very unnecessarily tight deadlines. It's only been a week since I started helping her out and right now it seems like my deadlines are typically two days for each piece of work, after which I'm given the next one and so forth. Okay my first assignment was simple enough and it was reasonable to finish within two days. But the last one and the one I have to work on now seem like stuff I'd expect a few more days than that to complete. I mean, this stuff is like actually reading up on things and looking for relevant information and stuff. If people could do all this reading so quickly, wouldn't all academics be churning out papers each month?

The promise of holidays

Don't you just love the few days before holidays? When you just can't wait for the extra free time that seems to hold so many promises of awesome things you just didn't have time to do while busy with work/school? It could be as simple as finally having time to catch up on sleep. It feels particularly good this time around because it'll be my first holiday in about a year where I don't have any uni activities encroaching on my time. The previous holidays pretty much passed me by because I was so busy with Uni activities, which admittedly were like vacations but...working vacations? Sometimes it's just nice to know you've got time to waste.
Well goals for the holidays will be....
1. Working out and getting fit. Throughout the whole semester, I never really recovered from coming back late from uni related activities..which left me rushing to keep up with school work and everything else. I've gained to much weight that my 'normal' weight is up about 3kg from what it used to be last year. No way I'm letting that continue. So it's going to be lots of jogging, swimming and pilates for me this hols.
2. Learn something new. But since I'm trying to lose weight, I'm thinking of taking up some kind of dance class. Never taken one in my life.
3. Update my wardrobe! I hadn't realised just how out of date my wardrobe has gotten. It just becomse so routine to pull on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt every morning just to go to class that when it actually comes to going out, I realise I've got nothing nice to wear. Everything's just so..two years ago. Shopping!!!!

Things to do

when someone wakes up on the wrong side of the bed.
1. Leave them alone; or
2. Cheer them up.
You do NOT
1. Have a 'for the sake of argument' conversation with them
2. Disagree with them over something so stupid that has no bearing on how anything turns out.
3. Say 'Fine it's my fault then' as if that would appease the already annoyed person.

First of all, 'for the sake of argument' conversations are never a good thing. The fact that it's just for the sake of argument just means that you don't really disagree. You just want to bring up another possible point of view. Which is fine. Just say that. Although any discerning person could tell, the former just really really really annoys a person who's already annoyed just that much more.

Secondly, if it's just a difference in opinion, just state your opinion and be done with it. I really don't understand why people like to push their opinions on me and then in the end say that I'm the pushy one. Come on, if you're going to shove your opinion down my throat, you can expect it will come right back out in your face in extra force because my opinion's coming right out behind it, too. But if one were to just say it like it is, that it's just their opinion and yes, yours makes sense too even though I still like mine better, then nobody would be pushing their opinions down anybody's throats.

And finally, everyone knows 'fine it's my fault then' never means 'fine it's my fault'. It means 'fine since you're so cranky I'll just take the blame...u satisfied?'
Did you REALLY think that was going to end a disagreement?

You give the paparazzi a bad name

Those awesome cameras that are now slung over the shoulders of idiots who don't know how to use them used to be only for people who really did make a living in photography, or at least those who could really call photography their hobby.
While there's nothing really wrong in making awesome cameras available to amateurs, I've found that many of those amateurs (read: people who never really bothered with photography before this), at least the ones whom I know personally, who choose to buy these cameras become annoying idiots who suddenly think that owning that camera makes them pros.
Saturday night was supposed to be awesome. Just some friends getting together to celebrate a friend's birthday and actually socialise after a week of being cooped up in our separate rooms for study week. I'd reserved a table for 7 which obviously means there's room for 8. For some reason, everyone is hell bent on trying to get me to kiss and make up with the annoying photographer in the group. I'd had two fights with him this year alone over his persistent attempts to take hideous photographs of me with his stupid camera (ok the camera might actually be smarter than him). The last one was a month ago resulting in our not speaking to each other. If I told the birthday girl she couldn't invite him along, I'd look like the mean one. What could I do?
Well anyway, here's what happens when you have morons who don't know how to use their cameras and don't care what kind of pictures they take and then post up online:
1. Half the table (that's only because he's not speaking to me. If we were still speaking, it would be...the whole table), can't eat until their plate has been photographed.
2. You can't really talk, sneeze, make funny faces while telling your friends silly stories, look bored etc etc...because the camera vulture is circling waiting to catch you in that otherwise unnoticable instant that you look hideous.
3. There's always someone wandering around the place looking like they're some awsome photographer trying to photograph every single piece of decoration in the restaurant.
4. Group photographs have to be done several times. Once with the smart one who has a normal compact camera which gets instant results, and several more painful times where everyone has to stay in place and wait for an idiot who doesn't know how to operate his camera.
Sorry, but as awesome as those cameras are, nights out are for snapshots of those moments you know why you still remain friends with people you no longer go to school with. Not spending half an hour on a photoshoot with a clumsy idiot of a cameraman.