Happy Birthday, Hon!

vicky with the ikan buntal looking cake

A HUGE Birthday shoutout to the love of my life .. who turned the big 3-0!

Happy Birthday, hon ..
love you tons and tons!

xoxoxo
From Niki and me

Twilight Trailer

I have been very busy feverishly reading the Twilight saga, I've finished Books 1 to 3 and I'm down to my last book Breaking Dawn..phew.. which I hope to finished before the movie comes out ... I'm such a nerd!

Twilight

Have you heard about Twilight?

Teen vamp love story more or less, filled with beautiful albeit really pale people and it's always raining in Forks. Just finished Book 1 : Twilight and my gosh loved it! Now just have to go get Books 2, 3 & 4 and of course wait for the movie that's due out in November..

Till then savour the trailer..

Niki's Four!

Our little girl turns four today!

She's our life!

Happy Birthday Niki, we love you alot, alot!

Happy Deepavali everyone!

Wow a whirlwind of a weekend, imagine non stop eating & merry making, and ahem! dare I say fireworks (it's illegal here) .. and my MIL home is just five minutes walk to the police station. Thank God no 5-0s were really listening even when we blasted the 20 foot long chinese crackers last night ..(my ears are still ringing!) ..

I didn't take any photos coz Niki took them I'll download it soon :) watch this space !!

Happy Deepavali!

Downtime in PD

We were in PD last weekend.

I wanted to eat in El Cactus ..but they were closed :( .. for renovations ..

and so because we're such lazy ppl we drove straight into the next hotel we saw which was the Corus ..

Here's some pics of us before dinner .. after dinner was another story all together ..

When It Rains, It Pours

Rain has been heaping in on us.

Whilst returning from KL, as per my previous post,

my jeep (thank God, it's a jeep!!) had to go through this "banjir kilat" / flash flood that happened right in front of CSR Shah Alam ..

I had to go through this to get on the Kesas, and thank God my jeep made it through ..

some cars didn't :( ..

Rainy KL

In KL today for another round of interviews for the KL office, had to more or less follow the spped dating way as more than 40 candidates turned up, my voice is hoarse from talking one whole day and repeating the same phrase over and over again is actually no friggin joke..ok time to blast off and face to KL LRT jam!!

One Hotel Only

clinical to some but contemporary to me

A few posts back I wrote that we would be staying at two different hotels in GC? Well, that's been dashed coz Paradise Resort is fully booked already! And so we're taking the easy way out and staying in the Holiday Inn Surfers Paradise for the whole week. In a way I feel good because I've always been a bit partial to HI group. Some say their hotels are a bit .. errr .. clinical with very little charm or personality but I for one has never found it to be that way .. is it because I am so? Hhhmmm don't know about that .. better ask e/ fam..

And so Holiday Inn it is then .. I'm actually quite pleased ;-)

Dancing Queen

Dry run @ the concert hall .. Niki was so excited about donning her costume and taking the bus to the concert hall .. the rehersal .. err not so much!

Niki's school concert is coming up fast..it's just a week plus away now..

And boy, do I still remember the last one .. which was (*gasp!*) a year ago..

my, my how time flies, eh?

I'm always saying that..

But it's so darn true..

Last year her class teacher said that though Niki is an excellent dancer (as excellent as a 4yo can be!) she tends to be a bit dreamy and sometimes floats off in her own thoughts .. well the ep is repeating itself again! Niki is actually a really talented dancer and if you see her floating in her tutus you will agree .. her movements are gentle and yet deliberate.. and she's got great music timing.. but like most 4yo she tends to be in her little world sometimes and may get caught up in their thoughts.. and so today I decided to drop in on her when she was practising in school .. and I saw nothing wrong, she danced really nicely..and so I told her teacher that yes perhaps she may daydream abit but which kid doesn't as I reminded her that they're a bunch of 4 yo and to cut them some slack, I guess over practicing can cause boredom as well.. I recorded her dance routine on my phone and showed it to her Daddy, and we both nodded in agreement that we shouldn't get too hot and bothered; for the simple reason that .. she's 4 .. :) and acting in a way that only kids her age know how..we should take a leson from them and not be too serious or set in our ways .. a little day dream may just be the antidote to cheer up your day!

Deepavali shopping

We're already in October, and just came out from a week long holiday .. I did alot of sleeping in, reading & watched Mamamia! And now I can't get the song out of my head .. "Mamamia .. here I go again, my, my how can I resist you! .."

Last Saturday, we went jalan-jalan to Jln Tengku Kelana or better known as Little India in the heart of Klang town. The colours, the atmosphere, and the latest Tamil top hits surrounded us as we went about looking for our Deepavali togs. I'm keeping to the Autumn/Winter 08 colours, so was looking at a lot of browns and golds and finally Vicky chose 2 really nice, sparkly Punjabi suits both in rich matte gold but of different cut and design. I've come to realize that sometimes my taste in tradisional outfits may be a bit off. After a hard day of shopping (*wink*) we found ourselves in the famous mee goreng restaurant again and of course ordered the mee goreng, the thing is the presentation of the food is definitely nil but omg like many hawker type food, it was so, so sedap *slurp*

And Niki the budding photographer was the one who took most of our photos while we browsed, and oohhh-ed and ahhh-ed at the endless rows of sarees, bangles, accessories, and yup my personal favourite .. Indian silverware. I love the Deepavali season and this year I'm gonna bake me & the fam some cookies too :) .. can't actually wait for the 27th!

Niki <3s Nick Jonas

A few weeks back I bought Niki the Camp Rock DVD and now she's officially a Jonas Brothers and Demi Lavatto fan and likes Nick Jonas the best.

Planning, planning

In the midst of getting our holiday in order, like my previous post booking in for Christmas isproving to be more challenging than I thought, since we'll be in GC for 7 nights we've decided to stay at two different hotels instead of just one, so there's Holiday Inn Surfers Paradise the sleek, contemporary one and the other the really kid-friendly Paradise Resort which Niki will love to bits. Choosing the right place to stay has taken us at least 2 weeks, and the tons of reviews we've read are buzzing in my head as well. Though the tripadvisor site is really helpful but it kinda make one quite confused at the end of the day. Anyhoo, alas our accommodations has been taken care of, now it's just planning the itinerary and getting a car to travel around with. The directions from Collangatta to the Holiday Inn seems straight forward enough so I think it's likely we'll drive ourselves from the airport to the hotel.

Thank God for the Internet, I would seriously be in trouble if I don't have access to the galore of information available there; check out this site for all you need to know about where we would be staying which is Surfers Paradise!

And for the shopaholics here's a little titbit

Insider's Shopping Tips

Surfers Paradise is the only 7-day, late night shopping district in Queensland, so venture out after dinner for a retail fix.
There are 14 shopping centres and arcades in Surfers Paradise, so make sure you put on your walking shoes/sandals whatever, explore them all and discover the hidden gems (hhhmmm.. I wonder what's in store here) in the precinct.
Surfers Paradise is an international shopping district, offering both retail and duty free shopping. If you're an international visitor (check!), you can claim a refund for the Foods and Services Tax (GST) you pay while visiting our country with the Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS). See detailed information below.
Even if you're not an international visitor, you can still indulge in that Gucci (yay!) handbag and most of the brand name delights in the Duty Free stores where selected items are also sold at a retail price. It's a handbag queen's heaven with international brand designer handbags from Coach, Louis Vuitton (double yay, I must find a companion for my LV pochette) and more, most of which are exclusive to the Surfers Paradise stores.
For that unique Surfers Paradise gift, head down to the Surfers Paradise Beachfront markets (gotta love 'em bazaars!) every Wednesday and Friday nights between 5:30pm and 10:00pm (they close a tad early yeah) , with over 100 stalls and a night time buzz that's irresistible for shoppers and browsers.

Super busy

Have been super busy lately, seiously, no time to even drink water that's how busy I was .. and I thank God that there's 2 days of public holidays coming up in conjuction with the Raya .. hellelujah!

And yeah we've been busy booking hotels for our Gold Coast holiday as well, not such an easy task coz there's hundreds of hotels and apartments available for the picking but due to the peak season almost everything's been snapped up!

Father's daughter

Niki is truly and indeed her father's daughter.

Similarities in terms of temperament & other antics are uncanny!

This morning while getting her ready for school, Niki was brushing her teeth and she right handed so obviously she holds her toothbrush on her right, right .. and she placed her left hand on the wall above her head, just like Daddy! I used to tease Vicky about the posture; coz it sure looks like he's trying to not nod off while brushing his teeth and Niki does the same thing .. It was so cute, a genetic hand me down .. just wanted to write it down here in my journal so I don't forget :)

Congrats to Khai Yik & Bee Choon

My cousin Khai Yik tied the knot last week to Bee Choon, almost the whole Lau/Low clan was there. Half my uncles/aunty carry Low as their surname and the other half are the Laus, yours truly included. Anyways I came to realize that my little cousins aren't so little anymore as Ah Hon filled me in on his life in Melbourne and his plans to marry his girlfriend next year and Firhan to follow suit the year after. I caught up with my other cousins as they told me tales of their life now. Time has really flew by especially when I see them all grown up and leading their own lives. Like I said they're all so grown up now, in my mind they're always be the perverbial snotty, naughty/nerdy kids/tweens they were.

Since Khai Yik is younger than I am, me & Vicky were honoured in the tea ceremony, it was a first for us and makes us feel well .. rather honoured and rather old actually :) All's good though .. and Niki really enjoyed herself getting to know her other faraway cousins .. and at weddings .. Niki simply loves the yam sengs that goes with the whole celebration!

Coffee Money.. More like Gourmet Coffee!

WARNING : DON'T OFFER DUIT KOPI FROM NOW ON!

DEAR FRIENDS

If you have ever paid or are thinking of paying ' Coffee Money' when stopped for traffic or other offences, DON'T EVER Do This Again. The traffic department (JPJ) has recently started a campaign to be rid of corruption. Every Officer on duty will be rewarded with RM100.00 if
they report each case of bribery to the department.

This is how they do (trick you into) it. They will note down the details of your IC/MyKad, and ask you how you want to settle ( 'Macam mana nak selesai?')

If you indicate yes or even offer to give them any money, they will report the incident by rejecting your 'Kopi Money' and get the RM100.00 instead as an incentive for their integrity and 'Honest' pubicity.

This means that You will end up having a summon issued to you and perhaps a charge for bribery.

SO DON'T PAY DUIT KOPI AGAIN , especially if you hope to go free with a lesser amount of money compared to the fine. Even if you want to pay over RM200, the JPJ Officers would rather have a 'good' name than to take your kopi money.

Just beware of their trick because the cops are now accumulating 'cookies' points for their promotion and pay increment - with your help if possible.

They should have done this to stop corruption long time ago... but anyway it's better late than never, right?

SPREAD THIS MESSAGE TO EDUCATE OTHERS ON THIS NEW ANTI-RASUAH POLICY!
AND DON'T YOU DARE TO CORRUPT ANY JPJ OR EVEN POLICE OFFICERS AGAIN!

** -------- **

I got this forwarded email this morning and feel that I better post it here for your guys.

To me basicly it's just another way for them to !%&$ with us right, it's a no win situation, now I know why suddenly the coppers are much more "active" now .. earlier I attributed it to the onset of the Raya celebrations which will usually have them in a frenzied state of vigilance.

Which scares the heck out of me since my jeep is really, really tinted!

Anyways, there are times where it is important to practice the following:

1) to entrance them with your womanly charms and puppy dog eyes (works only if you're a girl and the cop is heterosexual of course!)

2) if you're from a different state, to maintain your driver's license with your hometown address so that you can apply the following "Encik, maaf ye, I'm from outstation baru pindah ke KL/PJ"

And even if you apply the above and still get a ticket, then just take the darn thing and pay up..at least it's much better than paying them "hardworking civil servant who was supposed to protect the innocent and uphold justice"

Fun at the Peak

all couple-y

e/ leaf awning for baby

out & about in genting

group pics

Hehehehe somehow it seems rather crude when you put it down like that innit? Anyways it's Genting's theme park's tagline .. wonder who's the genius that came up with that ..? Puts new meaning to play of words. Anyways here's some leet stuffs that happened over the last few days ..

Fri the 5th we went for the Matta fair and was accosted by quite a number of tour packages, we had two destinations in mind (Gold Coast or Mauritius) and finally settled for Gold Coast through the Christmas holidays and New Year's we just got the airfare and we're booking our own accommodations and activities for our 8 day stay.. we chose Gold Coast because we think it'll offer more stuffs for the three of us and Niki especially .. she's over the moon when we told her that we're definitely visiting Sea World, Movie World and the like .. and has kept on asking whether Christmas arrived yet..

From Sat to Mon we were in Genting with some friends of ours and had a whale of a time there .. with numerous trips to the casino of course and gorging on overpriced food whilst there.. we finally found that eating fast food was the best way to go since the cold had us hungry most of the time. The weather there was between 16 - 18 degrees which is pretty darn cold for Malaysian standard, and on Sat and Mon we even had fog! And yup I learnt a new word "climatized" ... ;-) Loads of photos to follow in fb and here as soon as I get to downloading them.

Yesterday I was in KL conducting some interviews and found myself repeating the same information again and again until I found that my brain was overlapping .. I think it's a sign of aging... and yup we finally watched the recent X-Files movie and found it to be not really "supernatural-ey" we were hoping to since both Vicky & me are like x-philes .. nice thing I noticed in the movie was in one scene "The Jeffersons" were playing on TV .. and found myself humming the familiar old tune .. "coz I'm moving on up!" .. I wonder who here remembers that old sitcom?

Ok back to work! :-)

Beginning of the month!

Salary's in which means my bank balance has made a comeback.

Spent moolah on myself yesterday:

1) on a well deserved pedi

2) a super cantik white quilted pochette wallet; that can house all my plastics/cash/even handphone without much effort, it was time to bid au revoir to my old wallet! Ruby said that my trusty old wallet is truly, truly an antique on its own accord ;-p

.. and waiting for another new handbag from my honey bunny .. hhhmmm .. time to see what's in for the season! I've been eyeing a certain Speedy ..

Dressed for Success

A real estate agent just made me feel overdressed.

I have on a simple LBD & work pumps & a chain around my neck for good measure.

The real estate agent asked whether there's a soiree I'll be attending later .. I told her, "No, I was just to lazy to iron my work clothes so I just threw this on ;-)" .. that's the whole truth ..