I Sat On A Chair And Thought About Life

Merdeka di Bukit Fraser

2006-09-14T11:19:00.000+08:00

2 weekends ago, I...

Went to Fraser's Hill to hike and camp...

And during the hike, attempted to vandalize signs along the trail

Since it rained, I wore a blue garbage bag and walked around, while the rest used their ponchos, packpack cover and banana leaf

As the sun was setting, sat on a bench and enjoyed the mountain view

Because of the downpour, scraped our camping plans and got ourselves a bungalow to spend the night. At night, sat in the garden sipping hot drinks and lighting tanglungs as the skies lit up with Merdeka celebration fireworks

Had a hearty breakfast of luncheon meat, and egg soaked in lard, and other sinful stuff (~~slurp)

I even helped a ninja-wannabe do up his hair
:) Am still dreaming of the time when I can wake up, get out of the house and look at beautiful scenery everyday, just like I did over the weekend.

Being a Fierce Cili Padi

2006-08-14T11:04:00.000+08:00

This day in history, Lydia successfully displayed her fierceness in it's full fiery form..

Yes, I, the one who can never scold others properly, successfully unleashed fire, to achieve desired effect, that is to stop the *tormenting* of others.

My normal attempts at scolding would go something like this:
Me: "Stop playing with my flabs! Kenot simply touch"
Tormentor sings "I believe I can fly.." while flapping arms
Me: HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

No skills whatsoever in scolding right?
So, you may wonder "What has warranted such anger, that I managed to boost my scolding-skill-level overnight?"

All because of this:
One evening after work, I was happily doing my laps in the swimming pool when I hear shouts of "amoi.. amoi..". I stop to look, a bunch of teenage guys trying to main with me. Me thinks, "OK never mind, biasa la.. dowan to peduli, just continue swimming". The next few laps, every time I reached the shallow end where they were standing, one of them would conveniently swim right in front of me (when the pool is sooo big), or stay submerged somewhere along the path I swam. I think again "What a pain, but never mind, I still can dodge them while swimming." Come the next lap, they did the unthinkable. One of them, again conveniently stood in my way. So, there I was trying to avoid the nuisance, when another one of them popped out of the water directly under me. That was the last straw, I gave them a very nice piece of my mind while they were laughing away "Excuse me! Stop diving under me. That is NOT funny at all". To which the hooligans replied "Dunno, dunno". And I mockingly replied "Dunno, Dunno, Don't understand English is it?" before swimming away.

I was still fuming as I continued my laps. Angry that I was played around with, that I had to go through the head to belly bump.. Ewww geli.. However, I was glad to see that my outburst actually worked. They TOTALLY stayed clear from the lane where I was swimming. Muahaha.. I must have looked VERY angry...

Heh, I am so proud of myself...

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

2006-06-14T13:03:00.000+08:00

My heart leaps up when I behold A Rainbow in the sky
~William Wordsworth~

Beautiful, isn't it :)
Was hiking up the Melawati hill when I saw this awesome sunset. Orange tinted skies, hill tops bathed in yellow, with its hues changing as the sun travelled down. Even a huge rainbow, with both end visible, it's center shrouded by clouds. And to make it complete, friends to share the moment with..

Views like this always give me an awe-struck feeling, where I cannot help but say in my heart "God, how awesome You are..."

Farewell

2006-03-29T13:30:00.000+08:00

Something I wrote last week, back in Kuantan:

20-03-06
Ah Kong has passed away. Suddenly, just like that, with no warning, no time to say a proper goodbye.

He was sick the weekend before, admitted to hospital. Discovered that his prostate cancer has evolved to lung cancer. I could not make it for that trip back to Kuantan. My aunt tells me she had asked him to cry out to Jesus when he was afraid and needed help. Ah Kong nodded, a big difference from previous times when he just listened politely. I hope in my heart, that God had truly been his help in those times. Otherwise, I think the pain and loneliness would have been very unbearable.

I thought I had more time. So did the whole family, I guess. In a way I am glad he does not have to suffer any more pain. In fact, looking back, it is some sort of a miracle that he never suffered much pain during the 4 years of his cancer. It was just certains periods when the pain would come and go.

One thing I wish though, that he had been able to receive more family care, especially when he was sick. I had returned back to Kuantan to see Mimi, Ah Kong's maid bawling her eyes out. For her I am very thankful, because she truly cared for Ah Kong, accompanying him day and night, at home and in hospital. I do not know how the family would have done without her.

I want to thank everyone for your prayer and support during that time. Thank you for your listening ear, and words of comfort. I know some of you were pretty much at a lost for words when I was just crying over the phone, but you did help. A lot.

Just over a recent funeral, I had heard something along these lines: "When God allows death, it is always a double edge sword. It is never just death alone, because at the same time, God is working His purpose". In this case, my glimmer of hope is this, that with Ah Kong passing, there had come a time when he had encountered God as his savior.

A Time For Everything

2006-03-13T16:04:00.000+08:00

To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under the sun.
A time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
a time to kill and a time to heal ...
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance ...
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;a time to lose and a time to seek;
a time to rend and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

This verse from the Bible has somehow been playing in my head for the last week or so, starting from the time I stepped home after work and was told that my grandfather had vomitted blood. Automatically, due to his many previous health problems, I assumed the worst:
*Internal bleeding?*
*Liver collapsed?*
*His prostate cancer reaching it's critical state?*
*Must be in crazy pain*

There wasn't much information in hand that day. All I knew was that he was hospitalized, back in Kuantan, and was being treated. No one could provide answers as to what was the cause of the vomitting, how serious it was, or how much pain ah kong was in. It was frustrating because everyone around me was so cool, and here I was, thinking *Heloooooooo, he just vomitted blood. Should there not be more urgency?*

The next day, the family travelled back to Kuantan to see him. Was glad to see him with a healthy pink tint on his face. He seemed well, in no pain. It was such a relief to find out that the vomitting was due to very bad stomach ulcer, and not some collapse of internal body functions/organs. The urologist did further tests on him to find out more about his prostate cancer. Apparently, there should have been further treatment for his prostate cancer, which was not performed by the previous doctor. **Ughh, crap doctor**

With this grandfather of mine, I have not been very close, due to the fact that I struggle to speak Hakka or Cantonese, while he cannot speak or understand much English. In the recent years, he has been sick so much, and I just want to comfort him and talk to him more, but my words fail me. There are so many things which I want to say to him which I do not know how to express. These are the times when I so so wish that I had a much more decent command of Hakka. (Point to myself: Must make sure my children pick up at least their grandparent's dialect)

I guess, like Ecclesiates says, there is a time for everything. For me, the last two years have been a time of loved ones growing old with health complications. First my grandpa's prostate cancer, then my grandma's heart attack, and now this spewing blood incident. They have been wake-up calls for me, a realization that I'm not going to have them around forever, which means that I should be spending more time with them. Now wouldn't it be great if I could somehow reverse this ageing process..

Wierd Stuff

2006-03-01T12:26:00.000+08:00

I have been tagged by Poh Lynn.. so here goes..

List 5 weird or random things about yourself:
(Ok, I think there's more random than wierd here)
1. I sleepwalk once in a blue moon
2. Elderly people like to talk to me, even offer their seats when I am in the
lrt/bus
3. I learnt Jawi in school and reached top score of 23/100.
The norm was 0/100. (Yes, it's obvious that have no flair at tikam-ing)
4. I have no hair on my fingers, not even fine, little ones
5. Among my nicknames in uni were "Bebola" and "Dear"
(short for Ly-dear)

5 people whom I want to do the quiz:
1. Adelynne
2. Alice
3. Andrew
4. Ivan
5. Mike

The Cancer Causing Yau-Char-Kwai

2006-02-21T18:36:00.000+08:00

A recent conversation with my cutie-pie-cousin-Priscilla:

Me: Priscilla, wanna give this to Percist? (while I dangled stale-overnight-yau-char-kwai in my hands. Percist is the name of Pricilla's mini pincher)

Priscilla: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....... Percist will get cancer

Me: Huh? Cancer? No lah..

Priscilla: Yeah.. cancer, Percist cannot eat oily things, ice cream or biscuit, afterwards get cancer

Me: ?????????????????????

Kids.. so smart and so cute..

P/S: It's been ages since I've created a decent post. Lotsa things have been happening, but first, gotta clear my list of *other-more-important-things-to-do*, before I can get down to organizing a whole lot of pictures/videos, and putting events/super-belated-new-year-thoughts into words.

It Makes My Day

2005-11-23T09:47:00.000+08:00

Little things that make my day:

1. Watching raindrops splatter on my window while i day dream

2. Seeing the grin on a little boy face as he sticks his head out of the sunroof

3. Knowing that the time i spend with my grandma truly makes her happy

Tiger Woods Must Have Ugly Feet

2005-10-25T18:31:00.000+08:00

I have this thing for quotes, and these few kinda stuck with me when i was quote-surfing today...

The uglier a man's legs are, the better he plays golf - it's almost a law.
~~H. G. Wells
Hmm... I wonder how ugly Tiger Woods' legs are.. But Michelle Wie? Her legs look pretty decent. Gah, must be H.G Wells taking a shot at fictional(entertaining but untrue) quotes, after his success at fictional stories.

I always read the last page of a book first so that if I die before I finish I'll know how it turned out.
~~Nora Ephron
Corny but true. Now I have a new retort when I'm caught flipping through a book and reading the last page first.

God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain
~~C.S. Lewis
This kinda got me thinking. Some of my pains are gone, but the stains have remained. Hmm...proof that my stubborn-self-sufficient streak is not very good for me. More deep thoughts on the way. But for starters, guess I have to learn to rely more on God. More armoury from God to replace my own non-scar-proof armours... More grace to see things from the right perspective.. More strength to do the right thing... Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
~~William Butler Yeats
So poetic and dreamy. This I love. Now, I wish I could write like that..

Rock-a-bye-baby

2005-10-11T15:56:00.000+08:00

I was hanging around at home the other day, flipping through the newspapers when one particular headline attracted my attention. So I zoomed straight into the article. Next thing I knew, I was roaring away in laughter.

And here.. the reason for my amusement:

The government planned to hold a lullaby composition contest “to sing husbands to sleep.”

This was an encouragement to wives “to give their best in taking care of their husbands,” he said when opening the Tautan Kasih concert.

“The husband returns home tired and the wife will sing the lullaby for him to sleep soundly so that when he awakes, he will be at peace.

“This contributes to their happiness,” he said, adding that there would also be a similar contest for children's lullabies.

AHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

Then came the comment from my dad..

"What happened? Why are you laughing like that?"

A very valid comment. After all, when you have your daughter laughing away for no apparent reason, you would most probably be a little concerned about her mental state...

So I showed him the article, and here's what he said:

"Yeah, saw that already. I'm gonna get your mother to sing me a lullaby before I sleep"

WAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

** The article can be found in major papers dated 02.10.05

Dream Come True

2005-09-27T10:36:00.000+08:00

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

Karen passed her CLP! Dreams do come true :) I am truly truly happy!

Thank You Jesus! Amazing what prayers can do...

A Flurry of Activities

2005-09-14T15:16:00.000+08:00

This is a historical post :P
So many things happening, and so little time to blog…

So here goes, my short cut: a 3 in 1 post with lots and lots of pictures to tell my stories

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 August 2005. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ivan's birthday celebration

A bunch of us headed over to Planet Hollywood to give Ivan a burfday bash.
Ivan with his first-ever-flower-from-a-girl

Food, food and more food..

With the burfday boy.. Testing my skills on being photographed with a decent smile while talking on the phone.

A lot more pictures taken.. Have a look here

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 August 2005. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Shelley's farewell

Shelley-ot is going off :( far-far away to the land of Netherlands, and she's gonna be there to stay.
So being the chi-mui that we are, the SMC gang had a get-together to ~~make sure she helps us migrate there too~~ bid our farewell.

I feel so excited for her! A total change.. Not surprising for the daredevil that Shelley is.. Still, there is this little tinge of anxiety in me. Hope all goes exceptionally well for her :) In the meantime, am already dreaming of exploring the dutch countryside with her...
More pictures here

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 August 2005. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Perting Pandak

After the previous 2 days of ~~eating my heart out~~ wining and dining, I spent Merdeka Day hiking to the magnificent Perting Pandak waterfall.

It was a very big group indeed! 44 in all. Friends from my company joined me in the NSA excursion. After all, I had been raving about the place for quite some time.

The waterfall was great, as deep and inviting as ever. Lost no time in diving in. Then there was the near-drowning experience by Zin Lu and See Keat, which will make this trip forever etched in my mind. Thank God everyone is safe and sound!

Of course, during the hike, there was the exclamation of:

"Hey, I thought you said it was a 1 hour hike. How come we are not there yet?"

The standard reply

"5 more minutes"

Harhar.. kena tipu by me. Motivational speech mar..

Jinx Onder de Linden

2005-09-06T12:06:00.000+08:00

Meet my new colleague!

**pictures kinda shrunken. Please click for larger, more readable image

Yeah.. a doggie named Jinx Onder de Linden, who happens to be an Account Management Staff.. Is my company great or what!

I think this dog's momma must be very proud of him. After all, he's made it to an MNC's internal headlines, has his very own office room, even a personal e-mail address. Fuh... talk about achievement man..

Meanwhile, I cannot help but forsee conversations like this:
Rajesh(Jinx's boss): Hey, come let me introduce you to your new colleague, Jinx..
Lyd : Oh great, but where? I don't see him
Rajesh : Here, right in front of you
Lyd : Uh?? A dog?

A wedding, a lookalike discovered and more..

2005-08-25T13:49:00.000+08:00

20 Aug 2005
JOANNE'S WEDDING!!!!

On a bright Saturday afternoon 2 weekends ago, Joanne walked down the isle with hubby Muk Khian. She was the blushing bride, all serious and composed (hard to imagine her as the butt whacking buttbutt in my early encounters with her....) The flowergirl was so cute, trying to arrange her steps properly and yet grinning shyly at all the guests looking at her. The groom seemed like a nice guy. My first time seeing/meeting him, after all I heard about him from the FGA gang..

It was a very relaxed and lighthearted wedding.. Probably due to the fact that the pastor was one of the groom's buddies. There was laughter every now and then due to antics by the groom and the pastors during the ceremony. Hmm...would like my wedding to be like that.. A wedding not too somber, lighthearted, but still full of meaning :)

Had a great time meeting everyone again... After all, Weddings = mini gatherings :)
I never really realized it, but I have missed everyone so much! Did lotsa catching up with everyone, esp those who are living far far away: new darlings, smaller/bigger bellies, more/less facial hair, taller/shorter. Also met my lookalike.. Haha can try to guess who she is from the pictures

Dinner was almost immediately after the wedding ceremony, so went to check out Dawn's new apartment with Alvin. Nice place :) Was late for the wedding dinner because I was too busy mekap-ing ( :P no la, had to follow Alvin and pick Tiger up from GT).

Food was good, although I don't know why they had to remove the dishes so fast! It's like:
Me thinks: *yay! butter prawns!*
Then I turn around to look at Pung on stage, singing with her Kris Dayanti voice, Cynthia on guitar.
When I turn back, *Hey.. where did the prawns go? Huh? Taken away already???*
I may sound like a glutton, but good food should never be wasted... Think of all the starving children in Africa...

There was lots of picture taking, a lot more chatting, even a still tango

Of course, after that, we went straight to steven's corner for more chatting. After all, which reunion is complete without a mamak session?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Afternote:
This is what Pung put up on her friendster photo album..And I could not resist but to add the highlights...

More pictures here

Monday Blues

2005-08-22T16:31:00.000+08:00

I want to sleep....

I want to sleep...

I want to sleep...

Darn Mondays... Especially Mondays that come after a great weekend..

Hmm.. now, to drink another cup of coffee? Or stay far far away from the pimple-inducing, bad-for-heart but oh-so-wonderful-smelling brew...

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

K la.... coffee wins...

And yet again, the score:
Lyd's-i-must-drink-less-coffee-campaign = 0
Coffee = 1

My Impromptu Weekend Randevous

2005-08-15T17:06:00.000+08:00

T.h.u.r.s.d.a.y
11 am
Phone rings...

"We are going back to Kuantan tonight. Can you take leave?"
"Meeee(what I call my mom), today? How come so last minute? l've got tons of work piling…l'm leading cg tomorrow...."

"Hmm…Should l go? Should I not go? Hmm…. Ah! Hang it all, go only la. Long time haven't seen ah kong"

12.30pm
A few smses after, cg lesson passed. Had no problems getting leave (Thank God for an understanding boss)

2pm
Lunch hour spent catching up on work. My colleague, Huey Ling appears by my desk with tandoori chicken and naan, plate, cutlery and all. So, so nice of her :) l felt so pampered...

9pm
Leave an extremely hazy KL..Zzzz....zzzz..not there yet..zzzz...

12.30am
Arrived..ah kong still awake!! Maid exclaims “Ah kong tak mau tidor.. Dia tunggu anaknya balik dulu..” He was so excited about us coming back, he stayed awake way past his 9.30 sleep time, waiting for us. I think this was one of those few things which really make him happy these days – visits by his children and grandchildren, having the normal silence of the house broken by noisy banter and laughter. MUST, MUST, MUST go home more often…

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F.r.i.d.a.y
Spent the day visiting relatives from my mom’s side of the family. Kidnapped my cousin, Pearly from her new-found-furniture-tycoon-boyfriend for shopping and Bewitched.

Brought ah kong for restaurant dinner. Halfway through dinner, his eyes get teary. *Tell myself - control, Lyd don’t hampau here also…* Since ah po passed away, life has probably taken a 360 degree turn for ah kong.. Suddenly by himself in a house that used to boom with my grandma’s Hakka-style-loud voice; kids mostly in KL. Being sick with cancer has added to the change. They say aging is an inevitable process, yet I always feel it, to see a fierce man who used to be full of strength, now confined to a wheelchair, barely able to speak, or move… *Mental note to myself – Never ever ever let my parents grow old staying alone…*

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S.a.t.u.r.d.a.y
White sandy beaches, bright sunshine, rolling waves and warm breeze.. Always my most loved part of going back…

Spent the day in Awana Kijal, Kemaman, by the beach, lazing on a beach chair, book in hand. Took long walks along the waterline, enjoying the foamy waves lapping at my feet……

Ahh.. if only I could have this everyday…

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S.u.n.d.a.y
Go-home-day :(
Said goodbye to my ah kong, with promises to return again soon. Hope he understood my half-past-6 Canto…

I thought that no more adventures lay ahead, except for a boring trip back to the city. Boy, was I wrong.. We stopped by in Temerloh, a small town where I spend most of my childhood. Visited a few old friends. One thing lead to another, and soon my family and I were checking out our old church. Bumped into some more old friends there (Youth meeting was on).. Little toddlers, whom I had last seen as a kid, now all grown up into teenagers taller than me (ya, as usual la, always the ~~short~~ petite one) Really brings fond memories, to see all the uncles and aunties who used to pamper me as a kid, now with their own kids running around..

Well, what can I say, it was a great weekend. So much of catching up done… Miss my kampung already…

More pictures here

Kindred Spirits

2005-08-02T19:39:00.000+08:00

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one"

Every now and then, I get that opportunity to meet a kindred spirit.. Individuals who I can call bossom friends. Intimate friends to whom I can confide in. They have so beautifully colored my life, so this post is especially for all my kindred spirits.

Thank you for understanding me so well. I really appreciate it when I do not have to say much, but you know me well enough to roughly know what I am thinking or how I feel. We may not have the chance to meet due to seperate lives. But somehow, you just know me well enough to pick up the conversation as if we've always been around each other.

Thank you for the great times we had. The adventures and misadventures, drama and hilarious moments: I am glad I had the chance to experience them with you. They are really something….

Thank you for sticking by me through thick and thin. Countless times, you have pulled me up when I was down in the dumps. I am so glad for the support you have provided. They make my “miserable moments” more endurable.

Thank you for giving me a push in the right direction, a kick in the butt when I go the wrong way. I truly appreciate your constructive advice, comments and chiding, though I may have not have had the maturity to accept them at those times. I appreciate it that you tell me the brutal truth because you want to open my eyes to reality.

Thank you for making me laugh! To my “tormentors”, you really make my day, and I love it that you give me an excuse to whack you.

Thank you for your loyalty. For always extending that warm hand, making that effort to keep in touch with me, though I am sometimes so busy, I forget to return in kind. I truly thank God for individuals like you, because I am not your passing fancy, but a treasured friend.

You have enriched my life… For you I am truly truly grateful

My Current Love

2005-07-26T11:40:00.000+08:00

Am sooo into this song at the moment...

It's sung by Damien Rice.

I simply love the whole acoustic guitar solo and chello bits.. Such a sad sad song...

Flying Ais Kacang

2005-07-21T13:32:00.000+08:00

Malunya......

I just sprayed ais kacang on (or was it across) the lunch table in an attempt to swallow and cough at the same time.

Almost caused 5 helpless victims to have their shirts spotted with pink coloring. I say almost because the Dutch trainer sitting beside me got a little pink spot on his crisp white shirt… Hope it washes off; otherwise he will have a permanent reminder of Malaysian flying crushed ice…

Another Consultancy manager was there too… also Dutch…

Shy… shy…

Dinner@TopHat

2005-07-19T15:43:00.000+08:00

Microsoft Most Innovative Software Solution Worldwide Award
That was an award my company won for the product which my team works on (what a mouthful). Cool eh...I never knew I was working on such a great thing.

So, of course with every award comes a celebration. And that is how I got the chance to check out this restaurant called TopHat. It's one of those old colonial houses along Jalan Kia Peng which was transformed into a restaurant. Creative décor.... Lots of ethnic paintings and pieces of furniture. Soft lights from a single chandelier.. floating candles and scented oil to add to the ambience…

The main course consisted or barbequed fish and squid, complete with lamb and hot wings.. The fish was fantabulous!

Because the place was famous for its wine, the first thing I went for was the red wine. Also sampled some of their chardonnay (Australian of course). Well, I do not confess myself to be a wine expert, but it was good…

Took a look at the menu and spotted pinacolada. *OK, I have got to try this too..* Always listened to the pinacolada song without actually knowing how it tastes like. And besides, liquor and santan? What a combination… This I’ve got to try… The verdict: Nice, now I wonder what santan and baileys would taste like… Hmmmmmmmmm…..

Lots of photographs taken, light banter, toasts made, throw in a congratulatory speech by the big boss, and wallla…you get a very enjoyable dinner…

One of our spontaneous shots..

Yesterday night really felt like a weekend. Now, wouldn’t it be nice if all Mondays were like this…

More pictures here

Check This Out!

2005-07-19T09:15:00.000+08:00

This concert is not one to be missed!
There's gonna be great music, drama by a very talented team and loads of other stuff..
I'm going :) So come come come!

Scaredy cat going for screaming session

2005-07-15T09:52:00.000+08:00

36 hours to go....
To watching my first-ever horror movie in the cinema....
Yeah, a bit slow to do so, I know. But i have a confession to make:
I am a scaredy cat..

I'm one of those who scream or jump at the slightest *shock* moment in movies. So, I excercise a lot when watching thrillers, horror movies ESPECIALLY (Hey, jumping is considered excercise ok! Screaming is also excercise of my vocal chords)

This is a sneak preview of one of my watch-horror-movie-dvd-session:
Me: Hey..I feel like watching Sixth Sense... Watch with me la, I want a screaming partner..

Dawn: OK. Let's watch now. I got dvd

~~ fast forward..a gang of friends crowd in front of a pc, anticipating a great movie ahead (altec lansing *surround sound*, 17 inch monitor). Show starts, room lights turned off...

~~ the sound of an impending horror moment is heard.

Me: [thinking] Look a while more before I hide behind my pillow... A little while more, not yet, not yet..

Me: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

~~ Ghost appears, I scream and jump

Me: [thinking] Argh... too late.. [Says] Pung, you watched this before right.. Warn me when the chi kek scene comes...

Pung: Aiyar, not scary wan lar

~~ movie continues, with LOTS of scary bits. Pung was a pro at watching horror movies.. So obviously, her standards could not be applied for me...

Pung: Lyd, close your eyes, this is THE MOST SCARY part of the movie. (It was the part where the boy was in the tent, and the puking girl appeared)

~~ I cover my eyes with my hands. Sound of impending horror moment comes again.. I wait and wait

Lyd: Eh.. how come so long wan.. Ghost appear already or not?

Dawn: Not yet... wait la

~~I peep, nothing. I wait some more. Suspense is killing. Peep again

Lyd: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

~~Yeah, the ghost decided to appear the very moment i peeped.

So, there... my love-hate relationship with horror movies.
I bet tomorrow night will be very interesting indeed. Got to bring an extra cardigan to cover my face with, maybe some earplugs for my friends and not have pop corn in my hands.
Amityville Horror, here I come!

Food Tagged

2005-07-03T18:36:00.000+08:00

I've been food tagged! Here goes...

1. What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?
Indomee! That was when I was about 9 or 10, and absolutely crazy about Indomee. Then there was fried eggs, usually “sunny-side-all-over”, instead of the intended “sunny-side-up”.

2. Who had the most influence on your cooking?
My grandma. She cooks/makes great Nyonya stuff, gives good pointers, especially this one “Lu masak, ai pang ajinomoto, kalau boh, boh ho ciak”. Translated from Hokkien to English as “Use ajinomoto when cooking, otherwise your dishes won’t be tasty”

Hehe.. no la, I don't actually follow that pointer.. we all know ajinomoto is good, err i mean bad for health right…

3. Do you have an old photo as “evidence” of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?
Nope.. Why would I want to take any pictures for people to blackmail me with?

4. Mageirocophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?
Wazzat? Such powderful England.. Me no comprehendo…

5. What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest let down?
Kenwood mixer. Prefer baking to cooking, so I am helpless without this thing… Saves me a lot of sweat, effort and time, not having to beat stuff myself.

6. Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like - and probably no one else!

Squashed bread – That’s bread, especially those in the form of cojoined mini buns, squeeqed compact.
Thick Mee Hun Ker (Pan Meen)

7. What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?

Lotus Root Soup: Can’t get enough of it
Assam Laksa: I love it! I love it! I love it! Hmm... maybe it's about time I made a trip to Penang for this...
Ice Cream: Any flavour will do. Particularly love mint and chocolate chip

8. Three quickies:

Your favorite ice-cream… : Haagen-Dazs Mint and Chocolate Chip & Rum Raisin
You will probably never eat… : Pig’s ears (This is after hearing horror stories from avid bah-kut-teh lovers, who tell me that it might come with a little hair still attached), pig’s tongue(Also because of horror stories about being able to feel the taste buds on this particular organ/food when consuming it), fish eye
Your own signature dish… : Hahaha… My cooking skills are nothing to boast of.. Can I say chocolate cake :P Well, guess it would be pizza.

9. Who do you want most to cook you dinner?
Shannon. Been hearing a lot about his fantastic culinary and baking skills, but have not yet had the priviledge of tasting his handywork.

And my own question that I would love to answer:
What was the last thing you cooked?
Aglio Oglio, chicken chop. Here’s a preview of how my Aglio Oglio turned out.. Looks pretty good right ;)

10. What dishes do you never say no to?
Crab & Prawn dishes. German sausage.

Ok… time to select my “victims” to share about their food forays… muahahahhaha..
I shall tag:
Irizan : He’s been blogging about eating his flesh. I’m pretty curious on what other stuff he loves to eat when he’s not budget tight and forced to be self cannibalistic.
Tiara: She's got her pantry stuffed with food and I bet she has plenty of stories to tell about her eating adventures in Australia.
MeiYi: She’s living in Food Haven (where else but Penang). Might learn of a not-so-discovered, super-cekap assam laksa place from her. PENANG'S ASSAM LAKSA IS THE BEST!

By the way, know who tagged me? Edwin lah... Supporting new bloggers like me by providing me stuff to write about :D

Of Books And Laughter

2005-06-29T19:38:00.000+08:00

I must stop laughing to myself in public...

Yes…quite an embarrassment isn’t it, especially when you are in a crowded LRT, with your back against the wall, book in hand, and you see a few heads turn to look at you.

Why I laugh to myself?

99% of the time, it happens because I am reading a book, and I reach a comical portion of text, where I cannot help but laugh. And since, when I am reading, and there is no one to share the laughter with, I laugh to myself. Also, it so happens that most of my reading is done while traveling, hence my public self laughter.

But good things are meant to be shared right? Continue my public laughter, me thinks… Might rub off some of that joy on another person

For The First Time

2005-06-24T13:44:00.000+08:00

Today, i decided to do one of those things in my list of "101 Things To Do While I'm Still Alive and Kicking"

No.. it's not bungee jumping, sky diving or paragliding

Nah, not travelling around the world for a year

No, it's not getting a tatoo (what a waste, I can't)

Writing a best seller? Nope.. not that either

Marry the man of my dreams? Not yet, will tell you when i do

Well..what i did is....
Start my own blog

Pretty obvious huh ;) Why blog? Hmm.. lets see. There's the dream of getting featured on the Star as a *terrar blogger*... hehe.. no la.. Guess it's more of being able to go through my blog archives in, say 2 years time and say "Hey, I actually felt that!" or "Yeah, those were good times", or "Shucks, did i say(post) that out loud"

So there... my first blog.. Till the next post