Top 40 Sense

Not to boast or anything like that, but I have an ear to pick out songs that will be sure Top 40 hits. My close friends can vouch for this. You can give me a fresh new album and I'll pick out one or two songs which I 'like' and 6 months or so later it'll be on the top of one chart or another.

The theory proved itself again today but only because I'm a bit late in reviewing an album. Snow Patrol's new album, A Hundred Million Suns to be specific. They released the album sometime in late October but I'm only previewing it today for the first time. As I listen to the songs, one particularly caught my attention so I checked the title and it's called "Crack the Shutters". It's nicely composed, carries the typical Snow Patrol sound, and it's one of the most sexiest songs I've heard in quite a while. I did a YouTube search for it (with the intention of illegally ripping it off the 'net, if I may shamefully admit), and only then found out that it's already been released as a single off the album. I didn't know this because I never tune in to MTV / [V] / radio stations 'cuz I think mainstream media sucks. I haven't checked the charts, but all I can say is I have a feeling this song is going to become overplayed (like Chasing Cars) soon enough.





Now, I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing, it's just a knack I have. Good I guess because I tend to 'spot' hits before they become overplayed. Bad because.. well... to me it just means that I get drawn to normal Top 40 hits that appeal to the masses. Heheh. I hate what the mainstream media tend to do with really good songs though. They overplay it and totally kill the magic.

Maybe my true calling is to work in A&R or marketing for a record company.

Soundtrack: Snow Patrol - Disaster Button
Mood: Upbeat and alert
Location: Office cubicle
Random thought: Wouldn't it be really awesome if we could have chocolate-coated cotton candy? Imagine biting into a crisp, thin layer of dark bitter chocolate and then the disappearing, melting goodness of the sugary wisps of candy on your tongue. Yumm!!!

I am a Grup

... but not of the Trekkie kind.

My friend Udjinn posted a link to this article on his Facebook account and I really liked the write-up, hence the decision to share :D

And copying here too my comment to him on his post:

" As I sit here in my MNC-office cubicle, wearing faded jeans, a Minus the Bear t-shirt, a frayed biker-esque crop jacket, iPod blasting out Mogwai to drown out the sounds of my colleagues on their work conversations, I realize I'm a Grup. I'm 3 years away from turning 30 but hardly panicking about it 'cuz I know at 30 I'll probably won't change much (aside from additional grey hairs popping up).

There ARE others younger than I am who've comfortably and happily molded themselves into 'adulthood' as we know it but.. somehow I don't see myself getting there.

What I've always wondered is, if/when I have kids... if there will come a day when they turn 18 and defiantly say "Mama. I want to study Physics" and I'll go "WHAT?!! But becoming a musician is SO YOUR CALLING! Now all that money I spent on that studio for you is going down the drain!! YOU LISTEN TO ME YOU FORGET ABOUT THAT SILLY SCIENTIST DREAM OF YOURS!"

Haha. "


Soundtrack: The S.I.G.I.T. - Let It Go
Mood: Cheery
Location: Office cubicle
Random thought: If the UAE can play host to great international acts like Queen+Paul Rodgers and George Michael.... why can't we?? *sniff*

Greetings from Karachi

So I'm blogging from Karachi heheh. Been meaning to post this since I got in a couple of days ago but it's been a bit busy. Even now I'm actually still in the middle of today's workshop but we're on a bit of a longer break due to some of the participants having meetings. Plus we're a little bit ahead of schedule today so we have some slack.

Anyway, I still need to keep this to a quick-ish update so here you go:

• There are SO MANY local security forces standing/driving around the city with rifles in their hands. It's kinda intimidating.


• Otherwise it's actually been quite alright here for me. The people in general are polite. They stare a lot but they're not hostile towards you or anything. Not that I've approached any of them heh.


• Hotel's quite nice. The gym has great equipment (I went at 6am this morning for a workout)


• The local food is AWESOME, but oh so fattening (hence gym visit). Lots of capati and naan (they have different names here tho) and kebabs and masalas and hummus and mmmm yummy.


• Coincidentally this same week, our hotel is the venue for an "IDEAS (International Defence Exhibition and Seminar) - Arms for Peace" convention. Yes, Arms for Peace. Kind of an oxymoron isn't it? Anyhoo. What that means is that I'm staying at the same hotel with a huge bunch of the leaders of armed forces of the World. We have no idea if that's a good or a bad thing!!! Good because security is heightened 'cuz so many important army people are here. Bad because, well.. doesn't that make Sheraton a hotspot???? Eek.


• I did however meet two top Generals of Malaysia last night (if I'm not mistaken one was from the Airforce and another was from the Navy, although I don't remember their titles 'cuz they sounded complicated and long when they introduced themselves to me). I was waiting at the hotel foyer whilst a whole bunch of the delegates were there and the Malaysian delegates saw me and asked if I was Malaysian or Mongolian (wut? Ingat aku Altantuya kah??). Kinda cool to have chit-chatted with them all the way here in Pakistan when the chances of that happening in KL would be nada.


• Sadly none of the delegates were hot men in uniform. Oh they wore their uniforms alright, hundreds of them in their navy/airforce/army uniforms with loads of badges and stars and medals etc but none looking like Pierce Brosnan or Robert Downey Jr hahaha.


• The Shell office here is pretty nice. It's not too big a building but the interior's good. However, the electricity goes out for about a minute or two, occuring about 6-7 times a day. Like India and Indonesia, they also get quite an unsteady supply of electricy. So we'll be in the meeting room discussing when *poof* it goes dark and the airconds shut off. Thankfully the computer ports and projector are on backup power supply so they remain on. When this happened on the first day we were here in the office us visitors kept jumping and going "oh!" everytime there was a blackout. But after that happening so many times, we're now as calm and steady as the locals haha! I don't even stop midsentence now when the power goes out... I just continue talking like nothing happened. Dah champion ah macam local :P


• They have A LOT of hawks flying around in the skies. I've always thought hawks were lone creatures and don't live in flocks but there's a whole big bunch of them hovering in the skies above the city all the time. And they're pretty huge. I was up on the office building roof yesterday getting a view of the city and the birds flew pretty close. It was quite cool.


• We were out for dinner last nite, one of the local HR managers took us and gave us a semi-tour around the places we passed by. We drove by Benazir's late father's house, and along the road her brother was killed by local police whilst she was in power.


• Books here are quite cheap. I went into a local bookstore chain (Liberty Books) and found some great titles at about 30-40% the price of books in Malaysia at full price. And guess what. I've bought 5 books from here so far haha :D
  

Will write more comprehensive stories of my trip when I have the time!

Soundtrack: Nothing at the moment. Office is pretty quiet.
Mood: Work work work
Location: Shell Pakistan Limited, Karachi office
Random thought: I'll get fat if I stay here very long.

Post-Graduate Musical

Heehee I know this is soooo lame but ohmygod I'm splitting my sides from the amusement! :D

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Soundtrack: Pitty Sing - Anyway
Mood: LOLapallooza
Location: Hoxe's Cafe
Random thought: OMG gotta try all the other JibJab HSM3 stuff now!

ZAC!!!!!!!!

CILAKAK ADIKKU BERJUMPA ZAC EFRON DAN ASHLEY TISDALE (and Vanessa Hudgens but I don't care that much about her nyeh)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I was that close to Zac I would have bitten into/licked his arm muscles. Maybe that's why it wasn't fated that I too was in Melbourne and thus able to push little children aside at the HSM3 red carpet premiere.

BLADIHEL JELES GILERRRRR!!!! Hahahahahaaa


Soundtrack: The Sunshine Underground - Commercial Breakdown
Mood: Extremely excited and jealous
Location: Office cubicle
Random thought: No random thoughts at the moment, sorry. Visions of Zac Efron's perfectly-sculpted body clouds my mind.

Pakistan Here I Come

Here's some news. My trip to Pakistan, though initially avoided, is back on again. Obladi oblada.

For the past two weeks the project team has been going around in circles trying to determine the location of our next workshop. We wanted to have it in KL (more convenient for the project team). The country HR manager of Pakistan wanted to have it in Karachi due to cost limitations on his team. We offered to do it somewhere closer to Pakistan, say Qatar or Dubai. That was initially accepted as the option at first... but then the country manager again came back and said the project team MUST come onsite for the workshop.

My program manager asked how I felt about that and if I felt ok about going. I said, OF COURSE NOT! They're still setting off bombs left and right over there! The recent earthquake didn't help much to lessen my anxiety about going, so no. I didn't want to go, not at this point in time. My project manager also responded the same, and that was that. We sorta expected that given our company still has a global travel ban on business trips to Pakistan, we're good to proceed with the plan to have it somewhere else.

Friday morning I was getting ready to go to work when my program manager called to tell me that the travel ban has been lifted just the night before. Actually the travel ban was lifted on travel to Karachi and southern parts of Pakistan... there's still a cautionary note for travel to Islamabad. And that meant we have no reason to avoid from making the trip since the office is based in Karachi.

So yeah. I guess I understand the importance of us having to actually be present in the country to get our work done efficiently and all, but still... I'm not feeling too keen about having to go.

On the slight plus side, however, I will be making a transit in Dubai for a few days before returning to KL. There's another project workshop there in the days following the Pakistan one so a bunch of my other project colleagues will be there, most importantly Pam! So we're excited to get to do a bit of touristy things together whilst we're there (might as well make the most of the trip right!!! I've never been to Dubai). Also, I'm planning to meet up with Yang, see her place and what she gets up to when she's working and based in that city. Should be fun (provided I get out of Pakistan muahaha. Ok ok. Positive thoughts, positive thoughts).

Should be nothing to worry about though... the country manager has given his assurance that all aspects of security will be taken care of, and that Karachi's been quite peaceful anyway. I'll just pray :)

The major downer for me is that I now have to go back to the Pakistani Embassy to re-apply for my visa since my passport was stolen just before Raya. All I know is, I ain't going there alone! Dragging one of the guys at work with me whether they like it or not. Someone's gotta play my bodyguard.

Soundtrack: Aqualung - Good Goodnight
Mood: Sleepy
Location: Hoxe's Cafe
Random thought: Why do cheesecakes taste so darned good??

A great day for America and the World

I am not an American, and the closest tie I have to that country is my Uncle Bob who is married to my maternal aunt, Mak Teh.

Yet I stayed glued to the TV last night up until 2am, watching live telecasts of voting polls opening across the US of A. I woke up early this morning, and immediately ran out of the room to switch the TV on and check on standings. And once in the office, I've been tuned in to the live video feed on CNN.com, heart racing as bit by bit polls close and I see the numbers for Obama rise... and rise... and finally... VICTORY!

So why do I care so much? I don't give this much attention or concern about my own country's politics. So why America, and why now? Well. Obama is why. And I think that is the answer for why millions of other non-Americans around the world are more captivated and supportive of this year's elections as any other. Obama seemed to have appeared at the right time... a beacon of hope for Americans, and a symbol of change for the world. And a historical one at that!

Don't get me wrong. I am not wishing that I am an American, or that I am professing my utmost love for a nation I'm so far removed from. But as much as one might try to ignore or deny it, America is somewhat the 'center of the world'. The superpower nation. Their foreign policies impact more lives globally than any other country's. The Bush administration has wreaked havoc not only for his country but worse still, other nations as well.

Obama has promised change. And after following the presidential debates and watching him address his nation, I have faith in him and what he can do for his country. True, there is still a tiny cynical voice inside me which is saying "well anyone can promise a bright and peachy future. He's probably just an extremely charismatic salesman who can make you believe in anything". But for once I think I'll put my cynicism on politicians aside, and risk believing. If there's anyone in this world today who I think is worth risking my belief in, it's Barrack Obama.

So America.. congratulations! For voting your first African-American president of the USA. But we know race wasn't the reason behind it at all. I say congratulations for voting the right man for the job based on his intelligence and integrity, for his dream and vision, and for that I respect you as a nation.

I'm smiling. And I can't stop smiling. Because today is all about the strength of hope and unity :)

p/s: Adding this in as I absolutely love this interview (I LOVE John Cleese! I think he's one of the most wacky, intelligent men on Earth. I'd vote him for President if I could ;p)

Soundtrack: Web feed from CNN.com Live
Mood: Exhilirated
Location: Office cubicle
(Not-so)Random thought: And oh COME ON... McCain and Palin? I've never seen a more non-intellectually-challenging pair of presidential candidates ever. Aside from Malaysia's own politicans of course.
(The truly)Random thought: Hey. Looks like our local ulamas and politicians need not worry about how to be rid of the heavy metal/black metal social problem anymore. Har har.

Terry Fox Run Kuala Lumpur

Mummy, Baba, Kelly, Muna, Ayman and myself (amongst thousands of others) participated in the Terry Fox Charity Run for cancer research this morning. It was held at the Lake Gardens in KL, and this is the first year that I'm taking part in the run and it was fun! Thousands of people participated, from the tiniest and cutest of babies (ANYAAA!!!!) to the oldest of grandmas.. people walking, running, roller-blading, cycling, in prams, in wheelchairs, from all walks of life. It's always a great feeling to be a part of a huge group of people united for a common cause.

Ah, and I cannot refrain from making a comment about all the eye-candy. OH MY GOD SO MANY GOOD-LOOKING BOYS/MEN. Hee. That was unexpected. Kelly, Muna and I were like "Wow... didn't expect there to be an added benefit to participating in this run, eh girls!". Ahh. Certainly was pleasant to the eyes, and made waking up early in the morning so much more worth the effort for us non-morning persons.

Shallowness aside. It's been aaaaages since I've gone to the Lake Gardens and I was quite pleased to see how it's so beautiful and peaceful there. I'm making a point to visit the garden more often after this, just for a morning walk, a picnic or something.

"Team Shell". Our company sponsored 100 employees
for the run hence we had to run with our brand ;p

Booyah. We who managed to wake up at
'ass-o-clock' in the morning, in the words of Izyan

Arriving at the assembly area

Muna changing t-shirt secara stealth. Sungguh skill.

Ayman and friends geared for the run in Kain Pelikat! Haha gile comel

Team Petronas. :P

Team Sime Darby brought a big flag (center, distance). Ish. Tercabar.

All gung-ho to start the run. L-R: Kelly, Muna, myself, Baba

The start was slow, as there were thousands of people squeezed onto a small footpath.
So it wasn't really a 'run'... everyone just walked! I only started my jog in the last 1.5km

Oooh lookie we're in London

Our not-so-power-walk included singing, silly walking, random sports-like
commentating, and sudden bursts into conga-line

I finished the run to find Baba (who was ahead) tucking
into ice-cream... ONE IN EACH HAND!!!

Muna made new friends

I like this picture of my parents :)

Soundtrack: Mogwai - Scotland's Shame
Mood: Feeling refreshed
Location: Hoxe's cafe
Random thought: Apparently I don't have a Googleganger. Every result (5 pages' worth) of 'Mufizah Moslim' in Google points to me. I feel so unique and special :p. Heh. Do YOU have a Googleganger?

More than Paris Hilton

The fact that I write using a Westin hotel ballpoint pen, on a Le Meridien hotel A4 lined notepad, and marking notes with a Nikko hotel post-it, says a lot about where I've had to spend my working days lately.

p/s: Adopted a kitten recently. Chronologizing the whole thing on http://thefurrycoke.blogspot.com for other cat-lovers to keep track of the little one's growth and development :)

Soundtrack: Stars - Take Me To The Riot
Mood: Sniffly... getting-over-a-fever-kinda-moody
Location: Office cubicle
Random thought: Should I stay or should I go now?

Major bummers

Today sucks. I found out I still have to go to Miri this Wednesday & Thursday despite my best efforts trying to emphasise how this will be a waste of time. But oh well. For the 'greater good', Enterprise First, all that jazz.

Secondly, I'm bummed 'cuz Martin & Lavinia invited me to their engagement party in October, and be one of the 'tray girls'... but I can't because it's one day before I return from my Karachi trip! It's bad enough I have to miss Emilly's wedding as that falls on the same day as my flight TO Karachi... now I'm missing out on another friends' ceremony too because of my flight BACK. Shitty shitty.


Soundtrack: Elektrons - Stop Hold It
Mood: Frustrated
Location: Office cubicle
Random thought: Why? Why? Why why why why? Why why why why why why why? Oh.. and I wonder if there really is a Planet Nibiru aka Planet X....

Jamming it up with Rock Band

Had a major blast playing Rock Band on PS3 at Jorge's crib Friday night! Thaaankk youuuu Pija and Jorge! I've been dyiiingggg to try my hands on the game and it was awesoooommmmeeee hahahaa!!! OHMYGOD I wish I had loads of money and can buy myself a PS3 or Xbox and play Rock Band all day everyday.

Check us out, mucking about like the worst rock band ever:

Soundtrack: The Wombats - Little Miss Pipedream
Mood: Contented
Location: Bedroom, Shah Alam
Random thought: I praise and thank the genius who first put together the recipe and weaving design of the ketupat daun palas. Yummy.

Car washing elves

Someone (or something) washed my car without me knowing. Weird.

I haven't moved my car from my apartment basement parking lot for 2 days (I carpool to work mostly, and I haven't been feeling well yesterday and today so I didn't drive). I went down to the car late this afternoon to get a book I left in it, and found my wipers raised up to dry and that the car was so clean and shiny! Just the exterior though, the interior was untouched. I guess because whoever helped wash the car didn't have the keys.

I've seen a couple of Indian men who go around in our basement carpark wheeling a trolley and washing cars, but I always figured that their services are acquired and owners pay them to help wash their respective cars. So I have no idea if they were the ones who helped wash my car. And if so, why. It wasn't like my car was horribly dirty to begin with... it's been in a dirtier state before and nobody helped wash it back then!

I sort of expected someone to come up to me and ask for a payment whilst I was down there, but nobody did. So... hmm. Kinda curious now about how my Darth Monty got all cleaned up.

Soundtrack: Big Bang live performance playing on Muna's computer
Mood: Puzzled
Location: Muna's living room
Random thought: When will I ever be skinny enough to fit into skinny jeans? Tsk.

High tension at High Commission

I've just reached the office after a somewhat distressing experience at the High Commission of Pakistan in KL. I had to go there to apply for a business visa, as the next project I'll be working on is for Pakistan and the first trip will be to Karachi in October.

I'm already nervous about going as it is, based on colleagues who tell me of their experiences whilst they were there, and from current news. The 'preview' I had this morning didn't help diminish my anxiety. As soon as I walked into the tiny, musty and hot room I thought, "ohhh no...". I stood there motionless for a while as I processed the fact that I was one of only 2 females in a room of about 40-50 men, majority of which were Pakistanis; the other female was a Chinese lady who was there with her husband and child. The rest of the men there all stared at me throughout the whole time I was there. I've never felt so uncomfortable in my life!!

If only I had known it was like that, I'd have asked one of my guyfriends or Baba to accompany me. But then I thought, oh well.. I was there already anyway, might as well get it over and done with. I proceeded to take a number from the counter, but the ticket machine was off. I looked around for someone to help me, and the sole security guy there told me "No number. Just line-up or sit down" and I'm like... wha...?

I decided to try and 'line-up' in the queue, but hardly anyone else seemed to notice that there was a line in the first place. The men were simply cutting queue, brushing and pushing against once another and being very LOUD about trying to get to the front and have their papers processed. After only about 15-20 minutes of timidly standing there trying not to make physical contact with these people, I gave up the idea of lining up and went to sit on one of the chairs.

I waited... and waited... an hour passed. Thankfully I brought reading material. The situation near the counter didn't change, still a lot of shoving and general chaos. I got up and asked the guard again, perhaps if I come tomorrow the numbering system would work. He told me don't leave, sit down. I sat back down and continued to read whilst trying my darndest to ignore the men leering around me.

It wasn't until it was 12pm (and I was getting restless that this would NEVER end and I'd end up being stuck in there forever never to step on Malaysian soil again), that I finally got a glimpse as to the 'system' they had over there:

The guard started shooing everyone else, asking them to leave the premise and indicating that the counter was now closed for processing for the day. Chaos continued as the men made a LOT of noise, generally unhappy they were being chased out. This took some 10-15 minutes to settle. Finally when the place was empty, quiet, the air was clear for me to breathe again, and I was confused as to whether I had to leave too when the guy at the counter stood up, looked at me and said "Malaysian Passport? Ok now you come" and proceeded to take my documents and process my visa application.

So here are my tips to any other Malaysian females out there who might have the unfortunate need to get Pakistani visas done:

• Don't go alone. Bring a big/confident/strong MAN with you. This will serve two purposes; to help do the pushing and shoving to get to the counter, and to give deadly stares back at those leering at you
• If you DO have to go alone, don't bother going early. Just arrive at around 11.30am, tell the guard you have a Malaysian passport, sit, read, and wait for the place to close
• Once everyone else gets shoved out by the guard at closing time, you will have a clear passage to the counter where the person behind it will treat you as if you are beneath him, ask you questions in a condescending tone and making you feel belittled, but hey at least you get your visa processed.

That's just my experience at the embassy.... ooh boy I can't wait for the real country. My friend Wee Kee didn't help much by forwarding me this article when I reached the office and told him of what had happened. *meep*


Soundtrack: House, Season 2 Episode 19 playing on my second monitor
Mood: Semi-freaked out
Location: Office cubicle
(Not so)Random thought: Maybe there'll be a travel advisory against going to Pakistan in the next couple of weeks and I end up having to cancel my trip :P

Secondhand Wonderland

Block your calendars for the 16th of August and come for this event!! We're hosting a junkyard sale at the cafe and hope to see a big bunch of interesting secondhand items up for grabs :)

For more info visit the Nineteen Notes blog.

Now start rummaging through your old books, CDs, DVDs, magazines, etc and pack up those items you wanna sell off. Helps you declutter your room, and get some money out of it too!

Spread the love... mwuahs.

A Cold Port Dickson / Steel Teeth No More

I had another one of my weird random dreams last night. I dreamt that Eema, Muna and I flew to Melbourne for a concert. I can't remember which band though, because when I woke up the band name totally blanked on me. What I do remember is that we rented a bungalow there for our stay (yeah, so rich!) and a whole bunch of other people joined us including Rayman, Apik, Ell, Huda, Matyie, etc (which were expected)... as well as the Goodnight Electric boys (a tad weird).

Weirder still, from what I can remember of the dream, what was supposed to be Melbourne wasn't really Melbourne. Our rented bungalow was by the beach, and in the scenes where we went sightseeing (yes, we went sightseeing before the concert :p), the landscape looked more like Port Dickson to me! A cold, wintery version of Port Dickson. There were some random unconnected conversations in the dream too, including one of the guys asking me how we were going to populate a spreadsheet whilst watching the concert (must be my Shell related work-stress creeping into my dreams).

Dreams aside, another thing worth noting is that I have steel teeth no more! Yep. The braces came off yesterday. I was still quite hesitant to take them off ('cuz I wanted to make sure my mouth had enough room for every single tooth to grow and that my entire set of chomps were set in their proper alignment instead of taking them off now and having to wear them again in the future or something like that). But the dentist was insistant that it's time to take them off... so off they went! It feels weird though... I feel like I have fake teeth and my mouth is missing something. My smile is also missing a certain sparkle too, without the metal there for extra shine! Hehe.

*grins widely*

Soundtrack: Minus The Bear - Let's Play Clowns
Mood: Anticipative. Of what, I have no idea.
Location: Hoxe's
Random thought: I have a suspicion that all the video stores (licensed and pirated) are hiding their stock of Peter Pan DVDs to purposely deprive me of my Jeremy Sumpter fix. Sob.

Family Tree

A few weekends back my mom, along with her cousins, organized a huge family reunion to gather 5 generations of family members traced back to my Great-Grandfather, Abdul Rahman (who was Javanese and came to settle in Malaysia in 1911... which makes me only 3rd-generation Malaysian!) and his wife Maimunah. The gathering was great, I had fun and got to meet all my distant relatives.

One of the agendas (yes, we had an agenda!) of the gathering was to have each family 'clan' present their family tree. Clans were grouped by the children of Abdul Rahman and Maimunah. My family fell under the "Talha" clan (Talha is my grandfather, son of AR&M), and instead of doing a dry powerpoint presentation to showcase our family, my uncle created this video instead




Soundtrack: The Dreadful Yawns - November Nights
Mood: Too lazy to complete the pile of Kerang-related work I need to do
Location: Hoxe's
Random thought: If an entire world of Superheroes exist, would they make movies and television series about normal people?

Nothing Intelligible

You know that famous phrase, "See you later, alligator!" ?

Well..here's the Trimontel's take on more juicier versions:

See you later, masturbator!

After a while, pedophile!

So long, sotong!

So long, sexy thong!

Tata, pornstar!

Adios, speedos!

Adios, dildos!

.... and more to come as and when inspiration occurs.

Soundtrack: Ben Kenney - Girl

Mood: Tired and just a tad moody from the flu

Location: In my bedroom in Shah Alam, which I haven't slept in in months and months

Random thought: I think this post is random enough as it is

Marital Overload

Today is my Mummy's birthday!! The greatest, smartest, most respected, most hip & happening, cool, supportive, loveable woman in my world :D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MA!!!

Referring back to my previous post and its wedding theme.... guess what has kept me busy this past weekend? WEDDINGS!

I was invited to 5, but went to 4:
1) P.E's wedding on Saturday night (yes, that blueguy is MARRIED!)
2) Shahril's wedding on Sunday afternoon
3) Azida's wedding right after Shahril's wedding
4) Noreen's wedding on Sunday night

And no, none of the above were for the invites that I mentioned about receiving in the previous post. Those are for weddings occuring in September onwards!

Today, right after finishing work, Afiza, Jorge, Wee Kee and I are going on a road trip to Kuala Terengganu for another friend, Bobol's wedding. We'll be sleeping over at Sabun's family home there (she's gone home by bus already), attend the wedding tomorrow, try to squeeze in some sight seeing in a couple of hours, buy keropok lekor, and then drive back to KL. That's a looooooooooooong drive to look forward to. Heh.

Oh! Sidenote: I just finished watching the animated Speed Racer: Next Generation movie. Cute! Speed Racer has two sons he named Speed and X. Talk about being full of himself hahahaha. Kidding. I enjoyed the cartoon :D Also started watching The Big Bang Theory TV series and I think it's hilarious!

Soundtrack: The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
Mood: Excited about the road trip
Location: Office
Random thought: James McAvoy is soooooo ANYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! Have recently watched a number of his movies (Inside I'm Dancing, Last King of Scotland, Penelope, Atonement, Becoming Jane) and he's soooo versatile with the characters he plays! He could be like the next Leo DiCaprio or something heheh. Much more yummy too. Me likey. Me likey very muchly.

5 Weddings and a Confused Girl

Mass marriages... eeek! Just this morning alone I received 2 SMSes and 3 emails inviting me to 5 separate weddings. I had to restrain myself from running around asking for a brown bag to breathe into. The big M word gets me into a panic attack every time... what more 5 couples dropping the news in one morning.

My personal anxiety aside, I'm extremely happy for my friends though. Congratulations to all of you, and I've booked all your dates into my diary :) (invitations coming with emceeing requests, we'll need to pick that up separately yah!)

On a side note. Work is a tad confusing today. I thought I know what I know, and know what I don't know. But right now I am not really knowing what I know, and don't know if what I know is what is the right thing to know.

I need to get a grip! Watching male models prancing around in their briefs in Janice Dickinson's Modeling Agency show yesterday seemed to help me focus *ahem*. Looks like another round of late-night working in front of the telly again for me tonight.


Soundtrack: Blur - Country House
Mood: Apprehensive
Location: Office
Random thought: I can't believe JP is gay! What a lossssssssss!!!!!

Cookie Tunes

I experimented with a recipe today for chewy chocolate chip cookies. They turned out yummy... crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Sinful.

On an unrelated note, sharing one of my fave PlayRadioPlay!'s videos;

Love the song, and the video's just too cute.

On yet another unrelated note, Eema, Feruz and Izyan bought me a tank top with this design courtesy of Munkao as a belated birthday present. I love!

Soundtrack: Envy - Thousand Scars

Mood: Satisfied

Location: Hoxe's Cafe

Random thought: So much work to do, no mood at all to do it.

Birthday gift dilemma

Yesterday was my brother's 24th birthday, and today is my best friend Iliana's 26th birthday. I love birthdays, because it's a celebration of the birth of a loved one... and of another year having the person in your life.

But every time someone's birthday comes around, I get caught in the worst cracking-of-the-brain trying to come up with a meaningful present to give. This is especially so for those whom I've known for very very long, and whom I love very much. For me, every time I give something to someone I treasure, I want it to be something meaningful and useful. Not just some random marketing-gimmick mug or picture frame.

Sometimes, I will know in advance what to get someone, either because there's something they obviously need and can't afford/don't manage to get around buying it themselves, or because they straight-out mention it's something they want as a gift (which I prefer! Makes my job in present-hunting easier :D), or I stumble upon something that I know will light up their day. Other times however, as in the case of Izhar and Iliana this year... I'm left clueless. They both tell me there's nothing they need or want, and that's not helping!

A number of my close friends can attest to getting their presents months -sometimes even close to a year- later. That's what I usually resort to.. not buying someone anything, until I find the perfect gift. And finding the perfect gift for the perfect person every year is not an easy task!

But then again, I also like to randomly buy gifts or treats for my loved ones for no reason. Things that I know they'd love. So hopefully, that makes up for my inability to find birthday presents in a timely manner!

Soundtrack: PlayRadioPlay - See You Soon

Mood: Perky

Location: Hoxe's Cafe

Random thought: What cool stuff can I kirim from Japan?

Blog revival

Newsflash. I have decided to attempt to blog again. Yeay me.

I used to blog somewhat religiously, especially during my days in university, but that slowly but surely dwindled down to nothingness. Long daily posts turned into 3 to 4 shorter ones a week.. which turned into weekly posts... which turned into one or two updates a month if you're lucky... which then finally ended up with random, guilt-triggered posts to explain my disappearances and empty promises to update more frequently. Yes, I hang my head in shame. My blog used to get good hits, considering I'm a nobody. But all thanks to my own lack of discipline in updating content, my readers have long since stopped visiting my page (previously hosted on LiveJournal).

But in my own defense, my time has been consumed by... well, life. A lot has happened (a lot happened back then too, but somehow or other I found the time to blog!). However it is for my own reflections (and personal entertainment) that I should at least try to be less lazy and spend a few minutes to put some of my random thoughts and experiences to paper. I mean, pixels.

Then again... it's a weakness of mine to want to ramble on and on (and on... and on... and on...) and end up writing a 5-page essay on something that can be summed up in 2 sentences. And knowing that I can't keep my entries short is what makes me become too lazy to even start. Heh.

So this is my first attempt to keep this entry short. Somewhat. Here's to me and my resolution to keep writing.

Soundtrack: Dark Crystal movie playing in the background

Mood: Sleepy but inspired

Location: Living room

Random thought: I miss eating steaming hot jacket potatoes on cold mornings whilst rummaging through items at car-boot sales in London.