Kris Allen Takes Idol Crown

Before you read the rest of the post, let me just say this, America..congratulations you have yet again made another generic popstar! I knew Adam had it too good, it kinda jinxed him in the end didn't it. Anyways for all Glamberts out there, Adam do rock and by far is the best ever AI contestant ever .. like ever.. he definitley made the show this season! .. Adam, go on and make sweet music buddy instead of the run of mill stuffs all Idol winners (except for Carrie & Kelly of course!) are destined to be singing from here on out.

Written by Rob Sheffield for Rolling Stone Magazine

It’s the final countdown! Hope. Dreams. Sweat. Tears. And that’s just the guy whose job is guiding Paula up the stairs. Last night was just the first round — tonight we find out who took the crown. Full disclosure: I voted at least two dozen times for Adam. (I hit a pocket between 11:45 and 12:30 East Coast Time when I was getting through one out of three times.) So did 100 million other voters, all of whom would have gladly cast a ballot to keep from hearing that dogvomit Kara ballad “No Boundaries” again tonight. Too bad. We’re hearing it again. And watching a new Idol take the crown.

For reference: the Kara who wrote the godawful coronation ballad about the hurricane is the same Kara who wrote “La La,” the 2004 Ashlee Simpson hit that’s still a single-of-the-decade contender around this apartment. But the thought of hearing it again is pretty traumatic at the moment. No matter. Last night Adam took round one handily with his cowl-and-fog reinvention of “Mad World,” then nailed it with “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Kris didn’t come close to matching him in terms of vocals, but he seems like a nice guy, right? Nice white suits! Adam looks like such a Clockwork Orange droog!

8:09 pm: They’re all here! Lil Rounds! Anoop! Allison! Alexis! The whole top 13! In those white suits! I missed you, blind guy! I love how you can still hear Adam’s screech above the whole choir. I always love when Allison and Adam are snuggling — it reminds me when she was hugging Kris and Danny goodbye, then turned to Adam as if to say, “I’ll miss you most of all, scarecrow!” “So What” was an awesome beginning, the kind of uptempo number that was sorely missing during last night’s ballad-heavy torpor. I am predicting a night of festivities that will make the David Hassehoff inside all of us shed some Glambert-shaped tears.

8:17 pm: Making David Cook sing a song called “Permanent” is kind of a mean joke. Egads, I forgot how boring you were last year, Cookster — sorry. He’s the Kris kind of Idol, the kind of singer who may not be the most talented, but tries hard and tugs heartstrings and squeaks by week after week as the flashier ones fizzle. I watched last night’s performances over and over again, and I was surprised that Kris handled himself so well on the first couple of songs, before he gokeyed out at the end. Although I’m predicting (and rooting for) a Glambslide, it’ll be far from an atrocity if Kris wins.

That’s why this season was such an up — it was a likeable crew, and even the ones who couldn’t sing weren’t so unbearable to spend time with, right? I wasn’t into the Gokedragon’s voice in the least, but I liked him fine. Same with that Alexis, who sang “Jolene” despite not being able to hit a single one of the high notes in the chorus, and yes, even you, Blind Guy Who Ryan Seacrest Attempted to High-Five. I think it’s the Glambert Effect: his star power just increases the energy level for everyone around him — even Simon looks glad to be there this season. I think Paula said it best: “Adam, you dare to dance in the path of greatness!” But then, Paula always says it best, doesn’t she?

8:27 pm: LATIFAAAAH! And Lil Rounds, who always seems so game even though she can’t carry a tune at all — she got kicked off the show for fubaring up the melody to “I’m Every Woman,” which barely even HAS a melody. No matter. All is forgiven tonight. LIIIIL!

8:32 pm: Oooo, Anoop is getting IRIE! And Alexis too! And Jason Mraz! And my MUTE button!

8:40 pm: Kris Allen and Keith Urban. Nice. I think I like Kris because I like how he spells his name just like Cheryl Ladd’s character on Charlie’s Angels. He kind of looks like Cheryl Ladd, too. Why didn’t they give Glambert the country song that goes “I wanna kiss a girl”?

8:45 pm: Aaaaw — all the girls are singing Fergie’s “Glamorous” together, just like the girls’ choir did on “Gossip Girl.” Flossy flossy!

8:49 pm: Randy’s the only judge who gives Fergie a standing ovation. Or maybe he’s just wondering why she’s wearing the floormat out of his car. Fergie just got a whole line censored, maybe for profanity or maybe because this song is almost as bad as “No Boundaries.”

8:58 pm: Rock of Love reject Bikini Girl does a duet with Bikini-Clad Judge Kara, who apparently wasn’t 100% sure she already sealed her doom on this show with “No Boundaries” last night. There aren’t even enough G’s for this UGGGH.

9:04 pm: Cyndi Lauper? Another Gossip Girl moment! “Time After Time” is like my sixth favorite Cyndi song, but seeing her scat along with Allison Iraheta is what insanely padded finale episodes are for. Glambert needs to bust out some “She Bop” right about now.

9:05 pm: We’re an hour into the show and not a single Glambert shriek? This is NOT MY NOW. I am not INSIDE MY HEAVEN. Idol is not MAKING ME PROUD. (Sorry, just bracing myself for that crap coronation ballad.) Come on, Idol, Glambert is your sole meal ticket this season. Turn that bitch out and make him SING.

9:08 pm: Lionel Richie! You are looking EASY, my man, like a SUNDAY MORNING. (Glambert, get out there and do some “Brick House.” What, are you on vacation night? How long are you taking in that makeup chair?)

9:09 pm: Lionel is KILLING IT. Taste this moment, Gokey. This is so your now! It’ll never be this good again.

9:16 pm: Yeah, Glambert’s “Ring of Fire.” Remember that one? Randy Travis: “I’m speechless.”

9:18 pm: WOW! Glambert meets Kiss! You wanted the best and you got it! “BETH!” Wow. LOVE those…uh…shoulder pads? Snake cages? What the hell is that you’re wearing? Fire your LOVE GUN, Glambert. He is KILLING “Detroit Rock City.”

9:21 pm: Kiss Meet The Phantom of the Park had nothing on Kiss Meet The Phantom of The Glamb-Screech!

9:24 pm: That was even greater than Cyndi with Allison. To recover, I’m going to need some cold gin, tequila, vodka and orange juice.

9:26 pm: Well, THAT was a star. Maybe if Adam doesn’t join Queen as their new lead singer, he could tour with Kiss. He could be Ace, right?

9:28 pm: This is so my now it’s not even funny. Adam rocking (and rolling over) with Kiss was just about the best thing on Idol ALL SEASON LONG. Am I right or am I wrong?

9:30 pm: I was so excited about Santana doing “Black Magic Woman” until Timberfake started to sing. That song belongs to Allison, who is trying to make a devil out of all of us. Jorge, I missed you! Oye como va, Seacrest! This is kind of great, but maybe I’m just still in shock from “Rock & Roll All Nite.” Is that Heather Locklear in the crowd? Smooooth!

9:31 pm: Steve Martin? WTF? Are they going to do “The Grandmother Song?” “King Tut”? Some of those Three Amigos ballads?

9:33 pm: I have the strange feeling this Steve Martin banjo bit is not a joke. I’m not sure, though. Comedy is not pretty! That was perhaps the strangest thing he’s been involved with since “The Man With Two Brains” — and why didn’t he get down with Queen Latifah to re-enact scenes from Bringing Down The House?

9:37 pm: Commercial break = watching Adam sing “Rock & Roll All Nite” again! You show us everything you got, baby baby that’s quite a lot, you drive us wild, we’ll drive you crazy.

9:40 pm: “Do You Think I’m Sexy”? Is Rod Stewart coming out?

9:41 pm: RAAAAAAWWWWWWD!

9:43 pm: Okaaaay, Rod isn’t in 100% top voice right now, but check out Janice Dickinson playing air mandolin!

9:44 pm: Oh Rod, you made a first class fool out of me, but I’m as blind as a fool can be. I wonder why they didn’t get Steve Martin to bust out the banjo on this one.

9:52 pm: Another commercial break: rewatching Cyndi and Allison. Oh, these girls just wanna have fun.

9:54 pm: “We Are The Champions!” This is fucking brilliant.

9:55 pm: Adam and Kris singing this song to each other is pretty fucking sweet. They sure made it happen with the classic rock guest stars tonight.

10:00 pm: Down to the wire. Final results!

10:03 pm: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. [Editor’s note: Kris Allen won]

10:04 pm: Shock.

10:05 pm: Trauma.

10:06 pm: The 5 stages of Kris

Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

I’m somewhere between 1 and 2. No, still stuck at 1. But how relieved is Adam not having to sing “No Boundaries”?

10:10 pm: Kris is shocked. Adam is taking it better than Kris. I thought I was prepared for this, yet the scent of “preposterous bullshit” hovers in the air. Kris was incredibly gracious with his apparently sincere “Adam deserves it,” Allison was adorable snuggling with Adam, and me, I feel like the senator in The Godfather who says, “I’m gonna find out what the hell happened here today.” I AM GIVING A GOKEY “DREAM ON” SCREAM OF DISMAY.

What a shocker. I would have bet one of my kidneys that the winner was going to be my black-leather-clad demon-prince hero! Well, now is the time to congratulate the winner, not to bang our heads against the wall and wail “Mad World,” so let all of us Glambskanks just take a moment from our grief to wish Kris a long, prosperous, and happy career. Congratulations, guy. But in all honesty, my head and the wall are demanding a little together time right now. So thank you for the music, Glambert. We will meet again.

[Editors note: distraught Glamberts can console themselves by gazing at photos of Adam Lambert’s glorious Idol moments.]

Rob Sheffield

Weekend in Genting

It was way due for a company outing, and we thought that Genting will make a perfect getaway.

It's kinda close by and we can all drive up. We car-pooled of course coz we're preaching environmentally friendly travelling.

Well all of us more or less arrived at the scheduled time .. and since the rooms were under my name, my Genting card reads "Madam Lau Chee Chuiy, Claudine" .. never fail to make me feel older beyond my years. I had to be there to check us in of course .. I was hoping that checking in would be a breeze but there were about 70+ check-in's in front of me .. whatever can we do but go chillax in Coffee Bean while waiting .. and so an ice-blended later .. managed to get all settled into our rooms. Of course the guys were already hitting the outdoor theme parks before the word "go".

Niki and I preferred the less adventurous park and had tons of fun in the indoor park .. we went on all the rides .. at least twice! :) :)

Had our cotton floss, walked around, pondered on whether I should get a vintage AC/DC tee .. (decided against it .. since I'm more of a Def Leppard/Rolling Stones fan!), said "hi" to a ghoul from the Ripley's Believe or Not Museum, went on more rides ..

It was so much fun .. and we had dinner with our group .. it was Indian Cuisine night in Kampong Restaurant .. we ate from 7-ish till 10! They practically had to chase us out!

.. then ahem! more interesting activities followed ..

Had fun at Safari .. lots of partying ensued ..

Then around 3am we headed for the casino ..

... It was a good night :)

Went to bed about 5am and got up around 9am to have breakfast with our colleagues ...

What can I say except that it was a fun weekend :)

Of greens and balls

Vicky is an avid golfer.. you should see his golf set .. its pristine! .. and so shiny :)

I for one .. if la .. if being the word to stress on here .. if I do follow him to the range its usually because I'm there for the teh tarik or a cold coke ..

I've tried to like golf but I'm somewhat adverse to it .. I've even went as far as driving but still I cannot hit the dang white ball no matter how hard I tried .. guess I'll just stick to swimming! Or something which doesn't require as much hand-eye coordination!

Anyways, yesterday as Vicky was practicing his swing, Niki joined him and I was blown away.. the girl can certainly play.. and her swing is excellent with a good follow-through .. and the best thing is .. she always hit the ball as opposed to how hopeless her mom is .. well you go la baby .. mommy will be there to support both you & daddy ok .. :)

Daddy and Niki

Daddy and Niki.

That says it all, doesn't it .. :)

Jet Rocco

Jet is my Mother's Day/Birthday gift from hubby :)

Here's the newest addition to our family

..meet Jet Rocco!

Jet is a toy poodle and he's 8 weeks old!

He's literally a hairball with the sweetest disposition and loves to cuddle up in corners :)

Say Hi, Jet!

Happy Mother's Day

To every mom out there, I wish you the best ever Mother's Day, may you feel contentment, happiness and secure in your role as a mother.

You can be anaunt who loves her niece just like her own .. so Happy Mother's Day to you too :)

And this day also goes out to my hubby who's the reason why I can be a mom today..

Now..away with guilt and onward with the life

We have all done things that we are not proud of. Perhaps we were not there for a friend when they needed us, or we may have been responsible for unhappiness in our family. These sorts of past actions can leave us feeling ashamed and guilty, and we can end up carrying our guilt for years.

Guilt is probably one of the most debilitating and negative emotions there is — one that can, and often does, destroy a person's life. But if we want to live happy lives, we need to deal with the consequences of our past actions and not allow our lives to be wracked with guilt.

Feeling guilty should not be confused with taking responsibility for our past. Taking responsibility means that we actively address the consequences of our actions in whatever way we can, in particular changing our behavior patterns. Taking responsibility also includes moving on by making peace with the past.

Unlike taking responsibility, which is redeeming and positive, guilt has absolutely no value. Guilt does not encourage us to change in positive ways but debilitates us, leaving us unable to take the action we need to bring about change.

Breaking Out Of The Guilt Cycle

As a behavior pattern, guilt often becomes a self-perpetuating cycle: we do something, we feel guilty about it, we punish ourselves and, because we feel bad, we end up repeating our behavior at the next available opportunity.

The debilitating cycle of guilt continues largely because we do not take full responsibility for our actions or for changing our behavior. But how do we start the process of taking responsibility? By considering, with complete honesty, the part we play in any situation and accepting our role in creating events.

The purpose of this self-examination is to evaluate truthfully whatever occurred so that we can learn how we contributed. Through learning and honest self-assessment, we change our thinking and behavior. We can also forgive ourselves and move on with experience and wisdom.

Real Forgiveness

In this process, forgiveness is vital. However, forgiveness is not what we generally believe it to be.
The Toltec approach holds that real forgiveness has nothing to do with feeling sorry or apologizing — neither of which actually changes anything. True forgiveness is contained in its literal meaning. The word "forgive" is very old, and the prefix "for" means literally "to reject." So the word as a whole means "to reject the giving."

We need "to reject the giving" because, if we think we have wronged someone, we use our sense of guilt to "give" to that person. By giving, we hope to make it better, and to exonerate ourselves from our actions. Conversely, if we feel that someone has wronged us, we will continue to demand payment for that offense.

But giving from a sense of guilt can never lead to forgiveness. Neither can forgiveness be bestowed by another; it has to be brought about by ourselves. In the end, unless we can reject all this giving and truly forgive ourselves, we can never really move on and be free of the past.

How does forgiveness work in practice? Say that you have taken responsibility for your past by changing your behavior. The reality is that you can still have unresolved feelings about what you have done.

By simply feeling bad about the past, we never really move on. What's more, we imply that the past is meaningless and has no value. What a waste. For, if we have caused harm, surely we should try to learn from our actions rather than living with a heap of regrets? The process of forgiveness enables you to resolve unresolved feelings so that you can move on.

Forgiving ourselves means finding value in any experience. Instead of just writing off an experience as a painful episode, we should look for the value in that experience and try to take out of the experience whatever we can learn.

By searching for learning and value from our past, we ensure that there is no more need to give or demand payment; we can, indeed, "reject the giving" and so forgive.

To take meaning and value out of any situation, simply ask, "What has this taught me? What lessons can I learn: about myself, about others and about my life? How can I use this new knowledge to change my thinking and behavior and help others avoid the same trap?"

In this light our past, instead of being meaningless and shameful, has a positive and life-enhancing value. By learning to handle our past, and by taking the steps to forgive ourselves in the true sense of the word, we can let go of the debilitating consequences of guilt, and finally move on.

Theun Mares is author of 7 books and a teacher of personal growth based on the Toltec approach to life.

Guilt

I'm guilty of..

1) sometimes fogetting the simple things in life

2) taking things for granted

3) taking my husband for granted

4) taking Niki for granted

5) procrastinating

6) not trying hard enough

7) prioritizing the wrong stuffs

Ok that's enough, there's more.. but I just have to get some out and then move on to fixing it, its pointless to just know .. we must do!

The ‘acomodador’, with its origins in old Mexican traditions is a situation in our life that can be identified as the cause from which moment onwards our development has come to a halt. It can be a trauma, a defeat, a disappointment in love that has lead us to loose our courage in life.

The development of our self-awareness can only proceed if we can liberate ourselves from the ‘acomodador’ situation.How many of us ever started learning something e.g. a musical instrument and then gave up after putting a certain amount of efforts? Almost everybody might have gone through such situation time and again. It’s the Acomodador which lay down the rules at such moments and stops us from pursuing our dreams. It is for us to identify that moment, the Acomodador and go beyond it to pursue our dreams.

To make this happen we need to review our life many times and to review all the personal stories we have created about ourselves until we can forget them and grasp the learning and intuition that has been developed in those situations. It is about finishing unfinished stories and liberating ourselves from a dictator called the ‘acomodador’.

Academics vs Playtime

Nowadays I have to cut down Niki's playtime because her school work is quite frankly piling, in between of her spelling tests on ALL three languages (English, Mandarin and BM) .. she got quite a bit of honework as well and then of course we must practice Mandarin reading together..they've already gone through 8 reading titles in just 4 months!

Every Friday, Niki receives a packet of worksheets that she’s expected to complete at home and turn back in on Monday. The assignments are meant to help her meet class requirements for the week, which includes writing, recognizing and spelling words correctly. We're talking about my gonna-be five year old here.

I remember kindergarten as being games, snacks, and recess .. and scary Mrs Lian .. wish I can turn back the clock but we have to soldier on and face the fact that times have indeed changed and as parents we have to cope and change with the time. I would like to say things if only it was like our time, but the fact is that it's not..

And so as I drill down to the homework with my kid and getting her ready for her spelling tests, I know that I have to do the best for her .. even though it means that there's less playtime. It's hard but we have to do this .. not for us but for her .. though many may not want to admit this, but it's a matter of academic survival out there and only the fittest survive .. a bleak outlook .. actually no, it's just the reality of things.

Appreciate each other

The best thing to hold on to in life is each other." - Audrey Hepburn

Mane style

Visited Ruby@Image and am now the proud owner of a new cut that features very much less hair and a dual tone hi-lite in honey bronze. I spent two days in Ruby's .. seriously! So much for volume and longer mane! And maintenance is great just a quick blow & some mud voila! So honey instead of 45 mins I can now say 25 mins!

Just the two of us

It's just the two of us today and we have the whole day planned out. Now we're having lunch at Little Ben's and later we're hitting the malls not exactly the most creative of plans but we're spending a lot of q time together.

Update: Did some shopping and had tea in Tony Roma's. Tea was latte and ribs with a friend of ours Nicky. After which we adjourned for wine in Italiannies with another two friends Joey and Joseph. And then the lot of us went for a nightcap of beers, spirits and some dancing in Waikiki 1. Finally went home around 2-ish.

We were out for more than 14 hours! And discovered that we were not as old as we thought we were heh!

Labor's day weekend, yo

Aaaahhhh...audit's over weekend's here hanging out at our neighborhood mamak kota ria chatting with sara the owner..topics include the share market, dvd syndicates to durian sellers that rip you off..

Ok off we go gonna head home and make like brocollies :-)

To Audit or Forgetabouit

Many may not know this but I'm a certified Lead Auditor for ISO 9001 QMS. Yes I sat for the exam and everything and studied a pile or documents and whatnot and now I'm accredited so to speak, and every once in a while I'll accept assignments to be an ISO consultant or represent a company for their ISO auditing purposes. Today I'm on such a task. I do enjoy it but I'll be lying if I told you its easy peasy .. actually on occassions such as this I'm sure my pressure would be up a few notches.

I've been toiling on this company's audit for the past one week ensuring that all the documentation is in order and etc. And this morning, as I was getting ready since today's the day, I had an episode of food poisoning and was visiting my Mr Johnson Suisse for more times than I care to remember!

But I made it, drove like a crazy person and reached in 15 mins from Kota Kemuning to Bkt Jelutong. Thank God there weren't any coppers or speedtraps or it'll definitely make my day.

It's close to noon now and about one more hour before lunch.. and hopefully I'll be done by 6! Today it's gonna be only hubby & me .. our offspring is off to her Amama's for the weekend with the girls :) Yay !! alone time :) :)

KL : Of jams, conjestion & the former DPM

Having lunch with my colleagues yesterday and one of them mentioned that our newly minted PM decided to see how regular Malaysians hack it in the city.

I was like omg, not another one of those PR stunts, sure enough it is ..

Doesn't it just make your blood boil ..

For example;

Apparently this time the one with his foot in his mouth and his brains in his @rs3 is the new Federal Territories Minister, Raja Nong Chik had this bright gem spewing from his mouth, "Through the walkabout and by boarding the LRT with the people, he (Najib) experienced first-hand what they have to go through daily, like jams and other difficulties, in conjested areas" .. What? perviously he didn't know that KL was the magical land of traffic jams and packed sardines (i mean office workers) in the LRT? .. and for crying out loud Najib did the whole walkabout thingy on a weekend! These people do live in a bubble don't they?

Mod a Paris Haute Couture Fall 2009

the genius that is Marc Jacobs

Another one by Marc Jacobs

Isaac Mizrahi

Custo Barcelona

Gay Pa'ree, the City of Lights is always the perfect host for Fashion Week for the simple reason that it is able to combine artistry, pageantry and wearability into one, thus a designer has to cast a wide net but be precise in his or her movements.

Wide net – in the sense that the inspiration can come from anywhere; be it a book, a place even a person. In short, the muse can be something or someone that titillated the designer’s imagination.

Minute precision – the cut, the tailoring and silhouette should be charming and alluring to the audience that it was created for.

Somehow, in a time when global problems beseech every sector of the society, Paris has to find that perfect balance in fashion wherein the quest for the new silhouette that would define the 21st century continues while still being sensitive to the socio-political and economic and environmental issues.

Here's some of the master pieces featured by some of my favourite designers RTW line from their Fall line during Paris Fashion Week *points up*:

Mini reunion

The yummy mommies with Chloe and Ruelle

Saturday brunch me and niki met up with two of my old friends from school Ann and her kids Aqira and Cashel and Leelee and her two kids Chloe and Ruelle (Leelee if i spelt it wrong let me know) at the very mom and kid friendly Fit for 2 at BVII. It was Ann's idea to meet there and I can't agree more :) free nappies :-p (note to self : Niki still fits "M" .. amazing!)
And we spent hours and hours catching up and it felt so comfortable that it's hard to believe that we last met 17 years ago as 17 year olds.

And I have to say that we are all quite the yummy mommies. See for yourselves..and yes we need more catch up sessions .. Convent girls never ever run out of topics to talk about ..it's an ingrained talent :-)

The pic does not feature Niki & Aqira though.. they were next door at Kizland .horsing around .. allowing us moms to chatter on & on & on :-)

Feeling Dinosaury anyone?

After my appointment in Subang Jaya I had lunch over at Burger King's; always loved the Whopper Jr :) and ok free flowing coke appeals to me also actually :) :)

Anyways was sitting at a window seat so that I can keep an eye on any coppers on a saman rampage; I paid for my parking but it expired about an hour before and I was too lazy to walk over to the parking meter to top up *reason: Malaysian sun*

And then as I settled down to chow down, I noticed that I ought to be the most "senior" person sitting there; the rest of them were college kids, lots of them... and they talk really loudly..seriously.

A table close to mine was occupied by a couple of kids, a boy and a girl, girl has the obligatory American accent and boy was tinkering with a very expensive looking phone while listening to some oldies (his words not mine) ie. Ronan Keating, Hootie & The Blowfish, Third Eye Blind. Enrique Iglesias .. y'know oldies .. it's not like I was eavesdropping but they were talking really loudly.. I really couldn't help myself, I tried in vain to tune out but the wifi there was super slow and so I gave up trying to surf ..

And then boy said; "you know what makes a guy jealous?"

Me .. "nearly gagged on a mouthful of my whopper!"

girl was saying; "errrmmm I really don't know .. maybe money, friends?

Boy said, "so what else .. it's primal .. really natural .. c'mon"

Girl sheepishly answered "you mean girls??"

Boy said, "yeah, of course it's always about a girl .. I got really jealous when you asked me about Roshan the other day.."

Girl said, "what do you mean jealous?" .. right about then I think it finally dawned on her that the boy likes her .. and I was truly relieved .. but then I smiled to myself that I was just like her 12 years or so ago .. and I seriously feel ancient .. ancient that I nearly gagged while listening to their earlier conversation .. I was once young too.. and though we may sometimes think of youngsters as lame .. but I think it's rather a matter of jealousy .. we wished our lives were that simple .. at the throes of a blooming relationship, at the beginning before we step into real life, the uncertainty that we feel about what lies ahead and yet the anticipation, the need for our affections to be reciprocated...yes, I finally understood though we may have evolved, and we tell ourselves we have grown up but I know most of us are still sentimental creatures, holding on our earlier years .. years that when we think about makes us smile .. well, hold on to those memories let it not be diminished by how "sophisticated" we've become .. remember we were once young too .. and once our train of thoughts were exactly the same and I'm sure we made some poor 30 something nearly choke on their food too :)

Of telepathy

I'm in my "of" moods and my blog posts today sounds just like that!

I'm never one to show off, ok maybe that's not entirely true, in instances such as, "I bought a new dress and I would happily show it off :)" but I have one subject to confess, I'm totally convinced that my husband is telepathic! Seriously, how many can boast that their other half is telepathic .. well mine is, I can't actually tell you the nature of his gift but I'll tell you this; he knows me ahead of time better than anyone else! It's actually very sweet to know that about him, it's always nice to know that behind the tough exterior there's a "snag" in him. I may not tell you often, hon, but I love the way you love me; it's special, unique and most importantly it's you ..

Of the dreaded C!

About two months back we went for a regular check-up with our family GP Dr D and I showed him my shoulder. The same shoulder that is home to two odd looking tiny lumps, Dr D said it was nothing and said that it's keloid, well for those who's not sure what keloid is let me explain a bit more about of this skin condition ; well keloids can be considered to be "scars that don't know when to stop." A keloid, sometimes referred to as a keloid scar, is a tough heaped-up scar that rises quite abruptly above the rest of the skin. It usually has a smooth top and a pink or purple color. Keloids are irregularly shaped and tend to enlarge progressively. Unlike scars, keloids do not subside over time.

And I have this skin condition which makes scar mutate rather drastically over time. My keloids become quite large and unsightly. Aside from causing potential cosmetic problems, these exuberant scars tend to be itchy, tender, painful to the touch and sometimes tingly sort of pain especially if I'm under stress.

And so whilst at Dr D I showed him two tiny lumps that's on my shoulder and another three on the back of my leg, he told me not to worry and attributed this to my existing skin condition but he recommended me to see a skin specialist for a second opinion and so today finally after weeks of anxiety; Vicky and I made our way to Sunway to see the skin expert. Though we paid a hefty consultation fee we finally knew what exactly was my problem; and no it's not any form of basal cell skin cancer but in fact a viral skin infection that's usually water-borne; and it's pretty common with kids or people who actively swims. And treatment is pretty much straightforward albeit I would need to be shot by laser beams!

I can't even describe the feeling of relief I have right now .. yes, cancer is a real threat; and the best prevention is really get to know yourself; as in every nook & cranny and every bit of your own body. Self-examination can be a life-saver, and early detection may just save one's life.

Daddy Met the TM

Daddy and the Tengku Mahkota Pahang

At the launch of Xterra Malaysia in Sri Pentas, SV is one of the main sponsors for this triathlon event and also the designed of their website; check it here; and so Daddy got to meet the Tengku Mahkota of Pahang Tengku Abdullah :) who sits as the Royal Patron of the event.

Also met alot of TV3 personalities; Ally Iskandar the new talkshow extraordinaire who was also the event MC and the still striking Zakiah Anas.

*Click!* here if you would like to read more.

Collages of Bali

around Ubud, the scneries there are spectacular

Us :)

At the Holy Springs temple

balinese stone architecture .. these ones here dates back a few hundred years

Rice paddies and Puncak Sari volcanic mountain, you can see the lava at its foothills .. most of the mountains in Bali even the highest one Mount Agung is still active

Us

Here's some photo collages of Bali...

We were so lucky to be surrounded by so much beauty during our short stay there..

Bali Day 3,4 & 5

the infamous Paddy's Club; we were there on our first night for their Wednesday Foam Party

Sukawati Market

Ibu Oka's Babi Guling goes down perfectly with a Bintang or Teh Botol

the modest entry into Ibu Oka, the smell of grilled pork hangs lightly in the air!

A quick rundown on Days 3, 4 & 5

Day 3 in Ubud

After checking out of All Seasons we were really impatiently waiting to get Tanah Lot over with and check into our villa, just the word "villa" sends down chills of relaxation through us. Hmmmm .. bliss!

Tanah Lot is actually another version of the Sukawati market albeit it's more expensive sibling, whereas in Sukawati the shop owners/assistants pretend you don't exist (see, they cater more to the locals) and doesn't hassle you into buying stuffs, so if you can "tahan" past the sweat and humidity of the market place you can really find great gems here especially if you're nuts about Balinese handicrafts.

It was about one when we finished meandering around Tanah Lot and headed over to Ubud, and Ubud is simply breathtaking, my first comment to Vicky was omg, it's so beautiful, I can cry! (yes, it's actually that pretty, it was so green, so fresh and the air was so light and clean, heaven on earth as I would liken it) .. the people here are more laidback and friendly but not overtly so, I think because they respect our privacy. Made took us straight to Ibu Oka (oka is balinese for children) for the famous babi guling (suckling pig but fried) which is served with rice, veggies and sambal.

It was drizzling slightly and made the air even fresher, the restaurant itself is breathtakingly beautiful (per balinese usual!), we are way past blown away .. their culture, their architecture, the balinese themselves, their language and their overall beauty, languid and flawless.

We sat "lotus" style for lunch which was a tad difficult for our guide Made because of his "pouch" but the food, was simply sumptous, the sinfully delicious deep fried "fat" capped of with a chilled Bintang is utter perfection (their local beer, which was about Rm5 a bottle) -- after lunch we called it a day and was ready to just do nothing and Made called ahead to our villa to inform our impending arrival, we were actually just 5 minutes away.

And so we arrived at our villa, and again we were simply blown away by the beauty of nature that surrounded us and the best thing was we had a whole villa to ourselves, the villa itself an epitome of the grandiose of the Balinese culture and their tribute to Hinduism. Made told us that at least 80% of the balinese people are Hindu. Fresh flowers on our front porch complete with a day bed, inside a king sized bed sits supremely; its frame adorned with unique handcarved floral motifs was the main feature of the bedroom, upon closer inspection, more fresh flowers, a basket of local fruits and even a book of folklore on the nightstand completed with a combination of wooden and bamboo furnishings as well as a reading chair on the corner, and lo & behold the bathroom which was nearly twice the size of our bedchamber made up our villa, again complete with fresh flowers; and a bamboo bowl of scented flower petals for our bathwater. Our pool was just a few steps away from our room, with a gazebo facing the sunrise, perfect for my sun salutations in the morning.

On the 4th morning, we had breakfast served to us on our own private terrace; after our simple and yet very fulfilling breakfast; the hotel's private shuttle sent us to Ubud centre; first stop was the gallery of the Dali of Bali maestro Don Antonio Blanco, which houses many of his Balinese-style works. The grounds of the museum are stunning are well worth a stroll.

We even caught a glimpse of his daughter Maha Dewi Blanco who resides on the grounds of the museum in her own private residence; who's a jewelry designer and most of her works are displayed in the gift shop. A nice cafe sits atop a small hill called Cafe Rondji named after Don Antonio's wife; who was a famous Balinese dance.

Don Antonio passed about 10 years ago but his 76 year old wife Ni Rondji and his son Marco carries on his legacy together with his three daughters Tjempaka, Orkid and Maha Dewi. As we immersed ourselves in his artwork; oddly I can feel Don Antonio's spirit through his paintings which is mostly about the rennaisance balinese women. Though it was a tad naughty at times, got a feeling that Don Antonio was pretty cheeky -- but in some of his works especially potraits of his family, the beauty of his artwork shone brightly through.

After the museum, we strolled around Ubud before heading to Warung Laba Laba for lunch and then for a couple hours of pampering :-) it was only Rp60,000 (about Rm20) for an hour of balinese traditional massage .. bliss!

The back to the villa for afternoon tea, I must say Balinese coffee is definitely one of the better coffee I've tasted, and it was pretty addictive even for a non coffee drinker like myself!

In the evening we visited the famous Dirty Duck Dinner for bebek bengil (balinese fried duck) -- and though it was nice we realized that the local warungs and restaurants served it better. But we had the pleasure of sharing the evening with some new friends from Perth, and chatted the night away.

Day five - we lounged around the villa and again had breakfast on our terrace and before we knew it, it was time for us to say our goodbyes to the nice folks at the villa, Made drove us to Ngurah Rai for our flight back home. Though sad to leave we were so looking forward to seeing Niki after 5 days .. and when we arrived home her happy peals of laughter met us at the door, which was the perfect ending to our holiday in Bali :-)

ps. though Niki wasn't there with us for this holiday, there were loads of pressies for her, and an extra 3 pairs of footwear, to her already burgeoning collection of footwear!

Selamat Sore :-)

Missing Niki

We're missing Niki sooo much

Love, hugs and kisses to you my baby girl

Can't wait to see you Sunday, you're getting us from the airport .. :-)

Bali Day 1 & 2

We're in Bali!

And it's not at all like we'd expected..

It's soooo much better..

And our guide Made is great as well.

Today we did a whole lot of ground tours and covered;

1) Barong Dance

2) Sukawati market

3) the steps Paddy fields; again a surprise, it was so beautiful .. amazing

4) The Volcano : it's still active and we had lunch there overlooking the foothills of the volcano omg was it an experience of a lifetime

5) The coffee farm where we bought Balinese coffee for everyone because it was one of the best coffee we've ever tasted

6) The art gallery

7) And candlelight dinner in Jimbaran Bay's Aroma restaurant; where we ate under the stars and were serenaded by strollers who sang to us while we dined, dinner was magical

9) Night cap at the Ocean Beach Club on Kuta beach

Phew .. we did all that today and it's a surprise I can still post this ..

Tomorrow we're checking out from All Seasons but before that we're gonna laze around the pool before heading to our villa in Ubud and we're gonna go visit Tanah Lot (more shopping!!) and have "Babi Guling" (suckling pig Bali style)

:-) Smiles from Bali

Are you a friend of the Earth?

Earth Hour was yesterdy in Malaysia, 8TV has been heavily promoting this event and the climax was yesterday where Malaysians were urged to turn off energy from 8.30pm to 9.30pm. My feelings were mixed on this, part of me wanted to and part of me was thinking what's the point. The part that wanted to won out and we switched off for an hour yesterday, the reason? because rather than not do anything at least we can try doing something. We came home early from dinner and lo and behold my 75 year old neighbour, was sitting outside with a candle and she went as far as even switching off her fridge..so with renewed faith in the human race we did the same..

I know that Malaysia can't just turn off everything, but I was hoping that the government supported this effort more, even though 8tv stopped transmission for an hour, other channels didn't, since 8tv was part tv3 as it is with ntv7, these two channels were business as usual.

And how about hybrid cars in Malaysia, which is near impossible to get, our government is on the "we should do mode", but more accurately, I think it's more of "we should do but maybe not lah, it's not possible mode" .. so we're 50/50, and that's not good enough. So know this, even if you know whatever you're doing is a small step in reducing your carbon footprint go ahead, do that little than not at all. Let's stop being a cynic .. so reuse, reduce and recycle. Not only on the designated day, but make every day an Earth Day at home or at work, do your bit for the environment ..fuel awareness on climate change and prove that when the people of the world work together, you can make a difference in the fight against global warming. Save the Earth now before it's too late!

Have Bike Will Travel

Reading a 1991 version of Bill Dalton's Indonesia Handbook I came across a section on motorbikes.

For our forthcoming trip, we thought of renting a bike and exploring the island ourselves whenever our guide is not with us. I mean, we can't have the guide chaperoning us 24x7 can we? And of course it won't be too romantic with a third wheel :) pardon the pun!

And so being adventurous Vicky & I have decided that we would rent a bike there, from my initial research it costs about $5 - $6 a day which I think will be cheaper once we get there.

A simple motorbike with a 110cc engine is easy to ride, can carry 2 and can afford you access to the whole island. Its there waiting for you in the morning and is cheap to run. A tank of petrol is about IDR8,000.

Let's just hope Vicky can still remember how to ride one :)

My experience with bikes were not good, I once fell off my uncle's bike way back when I was a kid and it has pretty much scared me off it ever since! But now in my thirties, I've discovered that I have grown some courage and am actually quite open to the idea of riding on a bike, who knows I may even ask Vicky to give me a lesson while there..who knows?

Hair today gone tomorrow

I'm thinking about HAIR.

Yes, hair..

I feel the need to do something to my hair, but Vicky has said that I shouldn't .. just because I'm bored. Yes, I bored, but I don't want to go any shorter! I'm so over looking like a boy. I want to bestow upon myself a girly look. And waiting for it to grow up, well is kind of taking forever.

I think I may go home and get it treated to a hair spa. Yeah I think I need one.

And I need a pedi too, my nails look horrid and chipped but someone told me to get it done in Bali, but what if they don't use Opi, my nails only knows Opi. So I make an appointment to see Ruby and get it done nice before donning my spring sandals in Bali!

As for the hair I guess it has gotta wait until I come up with some bright idea!

Of Ms Smarty pants

I gave Niki quite an earful this morning, which she throughly deserves but I felt bad about it later. But I know that this is part & parcel with discipline. And we do it because we love her, if we don't we wouldn't care less if she turns out to be a total brat, which will be the last thing I would allow to happen. But sometimes I do feel like just biting her head off (not literally!!) when she's being a smart ass, which is quite often these days now that she learns more about everything! Can't put the brakes on growth, can you..

Pre-Jom Bali

Office has been pretty much crazy, we're growing, we're ever changing, and to ensure one of our projects move smoother we have decided to open another branch office in KL. It's been pretty hectic! And now with most everyone out of the office and out on the field there's a few moments of peace right now.

Our friend/agent called just now with more tips on our forthcoming Bali trip, so I need to say thank you to everyone who's contributed their tourist hotspots/guide/hotels options/food etc, it's been nothing but helpful and I'm now trying to work out our itinerary. Now, five days doesn't actually seem enough.

The weather is pretty weird today, it's raining, and it looks glum, very London-ey.

And yup, we need to get ourselves a new bed, the old one which has been with us for the past 10 years well is heading into retirement.

And yup cried and laughed buckets watching Marley and Me yesterday.

All Fluey

All three of us is unfortunately feeling under the weather, combination of cold, fever and cough, all of us feeling blue-y too..

and all the meds is our system ... bleeeuuukkk!

..and I haven't even written anything of value in my blog for ages already, *angry with self!*

Ink

It's my mind..

I'm still pondering..

Vicky & Nikita

Primary One

I had just registered Niki for the Primary One about one week back. She'll be officially starting her formal schooling in 2011.

Which made me recollect my own Std One experience.

It was 1982. I was placed in 1 Biru and my class teacher was Cikgu Zawiyah.

Did I ever tell you that I disliked my Kindergarten teacher Mrs Lian? Well that's another post all together.

Anyways it was 1982; which was 27 years ago. Wow ..