waking up in vegas

I'm off to Phuket this morning!! Be back in three days!! So excited, I can't hardly wait!!

Main reason I'm so excited, I'm gonna attempt bungy jumping. Why I say attempt? Cos I'll only decide once I'm up there about to jump off. Having goosebumps just thinking about it. I have an insane fear of heights, ironic as it may seem ;)

Photos and stories to follow.

Til then. Have a good weekend!

boom boom pow

I always enjoy a good barbeque and I sincerely believe I rock at barbequeing. SO whenever a need for a barbeque comes up, I'm always first in line.

Recently, I was in the GoldCoast and despite the 16 degrees temperature, we had a small mini barbeque. We had practically an entire lamb, tons of sausages, prawns and of course a good side of potato salads and fresh fruits. The moment that first piece of lamb hit the hot plate and it started to sizzle all thoughts of the cold surroundings melted away into a frenzied hunger pang. I totally enjoy the smell of barbequing meat especially one that's been properly marinated. Alas, since I was Head Chef, I didn't have the chance to take many photos due to my dirty and oily fingers and I got fed up of having to constantly wash them each time I wanted to handle my phone. The first shot is of the meat on the hot plate sizzling away. The heavenly aroma filling the night air.

The subsequent shots are the "WE" that I'm talking about. I do not know anyone else who does a barbeque during late autumn when most sane people would be indoors. But then again sometimes a little craziness helps make life a whole lot more enjoyable doesnt it? We had wine and beer and even champagne as we devoured our little feast of assorted meats. The whole time laughing and shivering in the cold.

Can't wait for my next barbeque. This time in proper tropical climate ;)

goodbye

About two weeks ago, my life was thrown off course by a single piece of news that just shook my day and made me think alot about life in general.

A childhood friend of mine was killed in a hit and run. He was on his way to college but he never made it. Highway patrol found his body on the side of the road with his bike a few feet away. 

This kid used to hang in my house so much that he called my mum "Amma" as well. She became his second mother. There was never a day when he wasn't in my house. And as kids we used to do everything together. We'd imagine all kinds of things, we'd laugh about things that only kids can laugh about, we'd torture each other, bully each other, we'll hate each other and then become friends again the next minute. And back then, we had no PSPs or gameboys or superfast internet. All we had were ourselves and our imaginations. During the school holidays, when my cousins came around, we'd have a huge blast playing all kinds of games. As I think back, I realize we were quite a mental bunch ;)

I can't remember but I think he was in my life for the first 12 or 13 years. And then we sort of grew apart and never spoke again after that. His mum and my mum had the occassional calls and all but the two of us never spoke again. I don't know why. So when we heard about his death, needless to say, my mum was heartbroken. And the rest of us lived out the day with a very heavy heart. At the end of that faithful day, we all came together to go to his house to pay our respects and show our support. It was the least we could do. This guy was part of our childhood and his death has left a hole in our minds that I believe will take a long time before it's covered up. 

At the funeral, his mum kept asking him to wake up and when my mum came in, his mum started shaking him telling him to get up and that his Amma was here now. It was devastating to say the least. His brother refused to accept his death and never came out from the kitchen. His dad was crying while talking to visitors. 

And it's so totally weird how you never hear from a person for years and you think life is all peachy and then BOOM something like this hits you and life is never the same after that. And I hate this feeling. I hate it hate it hate it. 

I think about him everyday now and all the things we used to do and laugh about and the amount of trouble we used to cause. And I always smile thinking about it and I always end that smile with guilt. Guilt maybe because I should have tried harder to keep in touch? I don't know. But one thing I do know is that, God definitely works in mysterious ways and we need to always ALWAYS let the people we love know how much they mean to us. Cos once they're gone, it's too late for anything already. 

Rest in peace SunnyBoy. Thank you so much for the memories.

Photo taken from Trey Ratcliff. Thank you!

if you seek amy

My road tax expires in a month so being a good responsible driver, decided to go and renew it at the insurance company that handles my car stuff. Dragging my sister along one Tuesday afternoon, we set out on our little adventure. Neither of us knew where the place was but we had a good sense of direction between us and were both very road savvy so we figured the trip would take a good half hour at the most back and forth.

One and a half hours later, we were still in the car bickering at each other trying to figure out the road. We were positive we had made one small mistake or we kept missing the turn off from the highway. We tried retracing our steps, tried taking different routes but it was all in vain. Tried calling the company but for some reason no one was answering. We were almost at our wit's end when my dear sister said something that changed us forever.

"Doesn't your new phone have like integrated GPS system?"

I looked at her like I was seeing her for the first time and was in utter shock. And then I screamed. 

"Couldn't you have said that earlier?!!!!!"

To which sister dearest replied, "What do you mean?! It's your bloody phone!! You should know what's in it!"

And then we both burst out laughing our hearts out. It was such a dumb blonde moment. In the end, we got to the insurance company in less than 15 minutes. FIFTEEN MINUTES! 

Talk about hopelessness ;)

Moral of the day, always know what's on your new phone inside out.

pokerface

A few days ago, I went down to my local grocers to get some cereal and fruits and a few other stuff. I took along this little girl my mum looks after. She's about 3 going on to 4 and she is such a chatterbox with an extremely curious mind. Always asking 'what's that' and 'why is that'?

So as we were strolling down the aisles with her sitting in the trolley cart, her very loose spaghetti strap top came down her left shoulder exposing her chest. And as I was re-adjusting her top I whispered, "Girl, put your dress on properly, everyone can see your boobs". Which was a big mistake.

She looked up at me with her eyes opened wide and said out loud, "What is boobs?" To which all the other mothers in the aisle turned around to look at us and I swear time stood still!! I tried to keep a straight face but couldn't. Tears of laughter were forming in my eyes and I quickly pushed the trolley out form the aisle. Once safe, I laughed til the tears poured! All the time, Little Girl was looking at me with curiousity in her eyes. And to make matters worst, she kept asking "What is boobs?"

I kept hushing her and pretending not to hear but she kept persisting which did not help the situation cos people were starting to look at me differently. I finally said, "When we get back, go and ask ur mummy, ok?" Which shut her up for good. Thank GOD!

Must seriously need to watch my words when little children are present. Obviously when we got back she asked her golden question out loud in front of my parents and her parents as well. I laughed running to my room leaving the older folks red faced and struggling for an explanation.

;)

circus

I just realized it's been ages since I last posted. Dunno what is wrong with me. Kept putting it off and off and now it's 2009!! Seriously time passes to fast and life takes on a whole lot meaning after awhile.

Will post proper stuff soon.

God bless..

womanizer

Love it love it love it! Check out the costume!

break the ice

This conversation happened between me and my mum a few weeks ago. Out of the blue. Without warning. I think we were in the kitchen making pasta.

-------------

Mama: Boy, what is ice?

Me: Ice? It's that stuff you put in your drinks to make it cold. Seriously ma you need to get yourself checked out.

Mama: I know what is ice la! I want to know what is the other ice.

Me: Other ice? What are you talking about? (at this time, I was getting a bit uncomfortable)

Mama: It's a kind of drug isn't it? (By which she is fully facing me by now)

Me: Yea.. Why la?

Mama: Your aunt found it in your cousin Charcoal's bag. Do you know anything about this?

Me: Excuse me, why do you think I would know anything about this? And how does her mother know what ICE look like? Ha?

Mama: I don't know.. but what is it?

Me: It's just a drug that gives you an unnatural high. That's all.

Mama: Cos your aunt and me were discussing about it and we think the best solution is to send Charcoal to rehab. (her face at this point was dead serious)

Me: REHAB?! Are you insane? Why are you sending the poor girl to rehab? OMG. Your jumping your guns here!!

Mama: She's a druggie la. She needs help.

Me: You don't even know if she's addicted. You don't even know if she did it more than once. You don't even know if she's done it yet! Besides, not everyone who does ice is addicted.

Mama: How would you know? Have you tried it?

Me: Who hasn't?!

Mama: Boy, don't play play. This is serious.. You could be destroying your life.

Me: Ayoh Ma.. Everybody does it la. No one talks about it. Can you all stop jumping to conclusions and think everybody who tries it are drug addicts. Welcome to the 21st century.

Mama: What nonsense. 21st century my foot! (at which the conversation abruptly ends cos the pasta pot has overboiled and is spilling over).

------------

Now.. my mind was reeling after this conversation. Send the poor girl to rehab? Parents these days are even worst worrywarts than they were 5 years ago. I just could not believe they decided to send Charcoal to rehab after which could possibly be just a one-off thing on her part. Poor girl.

But I'm glad to say that Charcoal is not in rehab. She's still at home. Perhaps under tight scrutiny from her mama. I for one know she's not addicted and she did try it out only ONCE. Heck, I was the one who gave her money to get it ;) Don't get me wrong. I'm not an advocate of party drugs but I am an advocate of you-should-try-anything-once and I've tried to instill that into everyone around me.

Don't do drugs and drive.

open your heart

A few weeks back, I had the opportunity to visit The National Heart Institute. The people I work for and the National Heart Institute Foundation have been working hand in hand to raise money for those who are not able to afford treatment and the high costs of heart surgery. This joint venture began sometime in January/February and has proven to be quite a success. By June, a total of RM170,000 had been collected and the people I work for has brilliantly matched this number giving a grand total of RM340,000.

About 2 weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit the National Heart Institute for a media moment and also to visit the patients who had benefited from our collections. There were 7 of us altogether. All flight attendants, all beautiful, all armed with a million dollar smiles. But nothing prepared us for what we saw and what we felt once we were in there. A few of my colleagues were moved to tears and most of us had tears in our eyes.

When we stepped into the children's wards, it was like a whole different world. Sure the walls were bright and colourful but you could see the pain in the parents' eyes and the lost wonderment in the children's eyes. They were happy and they were bouncy but underneath it all, there was a strand of sadness. It hurts especially when you see a beautiful baby with tubes sticking out of the baby's body. And sometimes it's not one but a few.

We also got the chance to walk into the ICUs where we visited patients who are just recovering from surgery. There was this one particular girl (who was a recipient of my people's collections) who had just got out of surgery but she was still having problems. Apparently her body was rejecting the new heart that was put into her and they had to strap her to her bed to avoid her body going into violent fits. It was very heartbreaking to see.

We all came away from that day with a renewed passion for life. It's too fragile and we need to appreciatte it much more than we do now. I'm thankful I got to see first hand where the money was going to and how it was helping the people that needed aid. It's great to be part of a company that is focused on giving back to the community. We've got green projects going on and we've got charity projects going on. Not many businesses can do that. You've got to be really established to be able to do proper charity projects.

Ok.. enough of tears. I promise my next post will be a happy happy one!!

disturbia

I've got a God awful toothache and it's killing me. I'm dying and in pain. The truth is, I could have avoided this months ago if I had gone to the dentist like I was supposed to but NO, fear took over as it always does and I avoided the appointment. I always do that. Keep putting it aside until it's too late and I'm in tears.

I've always had a terrifying fear of the dentist right from my childhood days. Every year since I was seven, my name will always be called up by the school teachers to go see the mobile dentist that makes annual visits to the government schools. Even in high school, it was the same thing no matter how much I want to escape but I just couldn't. And none of the dentist or their nurses were pleasant looking. So to a little guy, i guess it made everything scarier.

The worst part of it all was when they start drilling. The sound. The smell. And sometimes you can see specks of things flying out. I usually try to hold my breath or breathe thru my mouth to avoid smelling that sick smell. But it never helps.

Why oh why do we have cavities? It's not to say I have poor dental hygiene, in fact it's the opposite, I'm quite diligent when it's comes to oral hygiene except for the fact that I don't see the dentist every six months. Sigh..

i kissed a girl

The past few nights I've been having barebacking dreams!!

Most of the dreams start out normal and ends with me topping the other guy. It's so freaking good but BAD! And the guys are as random as the rocks on the streets. One was with my college lecturer, another with my high school friend, two with my current colleagues, no wait.. THREE was with my current colleagues and another one with this cute guy at my neighbourhood McDonald's.

I wake up feeling good and horny and the dreams usually stay with me thru out the day. Is my subconscious telling me to be nasty? Maybe.. Or maybe it's just telling me to go and have sex. Yes, I've been practicing celibacy for almost a month now after a really really BAD sex session a month back. I immediately swore off all kinds of sex to clean up my sexual karma and I guess you can say I've been saving myself ;)

But good Lord do I miss it! And bareback!! The temptation is overwhelming. Thank God for dreams or else I might be losing my mind. I need someone to Justify My Love!!

heal the world

As many of us are aware, we just celebrated World Environment Day. And how did you celebrate yours? I did not turn on the computer or the tv, did not use the car, and told everyone I spoke to spare a thought for Mother Nature. It's a celebration that goes unnoticed by many but to those of who are friends of Ma Nature, we don't let the day go to waste.

There's been alot of hoopla lately about the rising fuel prices. And yes, it's affecting everyone. But I can't help but see the silver lining in these trying times. Maybe with the escalating price of petrol, everyone will now be forced to think of alternative transportations. And by alternate transportations, I mean car pooling, using the trains and walking or bicycling!! Seriously honey, do you really need to drive to the nearest grocer's for a loaf of bread? Just because you are at the mercy of the weather does not mean you have to fill the air with more exhaust fumes. Walk, it'll do you good. And make you leaner too. Lord knows alot of us can stand to lose a few pounds. And how can you argue about the benefits of cycling? It's a HUGE abs trimmer and butt tightener. Need I say more?

There are too many people who talk about the environment and do nothing for it. Alot of people will say they are pro-green but not many are willing to give up their little luxury items in support for a greener environment. We need to wake up and smell the exhaust fumes. The earth is not getting younger (and neither are you for that matter) and before you know it, all we'll have are distant memories of green tropical forests and blue oceans. I'm not even gonna get started on fauna extinction. That's a whole different topic in itself. Even as I type this, earth's temperature is rising causing less cooler regions. There's less snow in areas where it used to be blanketed by Jack Frost, the polar ice caps are melting rapidly, the seas are constantly being polluted by crap from moronic fisherman and dumb tourists, and there is so much garbage being thrown away by households and officeblocks. Recycling is the key people. We already know it but not enough is being done. I for one am making an active stand on recycling as of now.

When shopping, bring your own bag instead of using the plastic bags. Easier said than done, I know. Because of the mentality of our shop-people. And it can get frustrating sometimes but hang in there. The following conversation happened to my soulmate HoneyStar at Watson's.

me: Its ok, I dont need a bag

nor: Cannot!

me: What do you mean by cannot? I dont need it. I have the reusable shopping bag.

nor: Cannot, the department (I dont know what he was mumbling about, dunno head department or what department) says cannot.

me: But I have the receipt to prove I paid for it. I really dont need the extra plastic bag.

nor: If you don't need it, you can throw it away. (OMG!!! I got so pissed when he said that!!)

me: (screaming)This is ridiculous, throw it away??? This is why we have pollution. Its people like you contributing to the pollution. This doesn't make sense at all!!

You can read more about it on her page. Just click on her name. I can feel her pain. There is still alot of work that needs to be done in terms of educating the general public. But I will say that there has been alot of improvement from the previous years. Lots of people are seeing the light (as hazy as it is).

So here's to a better today and a whole lot better tomorrow. Save and recycle. Life's too precious!!


I'm ending this with an ad campaign by The State Government of Western Australia. They're doing their part to combat global warming with a program called Act Now For The Future. Three simple print advertisements show chimneys, cars and lightbulbs and the words ” It’s your choice.”







Save the world. Make Mother Nature proud.

give it to me

For those who know me on a materialistic level, they'd know by now that I never had the same phone for more than a year. Since 2002, I've been changing my phones annually and most of them don't even make it to 12 months. Yes, fickle I know.

But guess what? Today marks the official day that my current phone the N95, hits the 12 month mark!! I'm proud and happy with myself that I've managed to stick with this gorgeous beauty for so long. And it really is an amazing phone. I've not seen any other Nokia phones since the N95 that can come close to dethroning it's beauty.

So congratulate me. If I can do this, then I can do relationships ;)

P/S: Yes, the pic has nothing to do with the post. Just thought I'd spice things up a bit since my previous post was so morbid.

no more i love yous

It's a well known fact that I am in love with the world of the supernatural and that I am intrigued by all things unseen. This passion was planted in me by my Mama who brought me up with stories of her own childhood ghosts and countless hours of horror movies and television shows. As much as I have a stern tough exterior look, I am really a pussy on the inside. I sleep with the lights on no matter I am and my mind is constantly warning me that something is under the bed, behind the door, behind the car seat, behind me in the shower, sleeping next to me, walking behind me.. So life becomes abit of a paranoia after awhile. But like a bad habit I cannot resist listening to ghost stories or reading more horror tales.

My soulmate HoneyStar recently sent me a link to this site containing works by a photographer named Joshua Hoffine. The collection is called Childhood Fears and it's not your usual late-for-school, didn't-do-your-homework, broke-the-vase sort of fear. It's more of the nightmare boogeyman type. And let me tell you, this photos are not for the faint of heart!!!!! It freaked me out. Cos some of the images really brought out the goosebumps on my neck. Below are the creme de la creme of the ones that really freaked me.


This scenario has been played in my mind so many times. Closing the fridge door to discover something behind it. And from the looks of it, this little girl is about to experience the worst trauma of her life. What's up with the disembodied head in the fridge. The poor kid.. And why is that creature squatting. It just makes it all the more menacing.


I'm pretty sure most of had this nightmare when we growing up. The creature in the dark closet. I can actually feel this little girl's fear. Looking at the door as it comes crawling out.

I love this shot actually. It mixes innocence and danger together. The doll, the teddy bear, the rocking horse, the stuffed animal on the vanity, the pretty picture on the wall and the EVIL creature coming through the cupboard door. Have to give credit to the little girl though, don't think I'll be standing in the corner if I saw this coming out from my cupboard. Probably be climbing the wall screaming in terror.


This is BAD. BAD. I have this urgent need to save that little girl. OH LORD.. I cannot tell you how many times I've had visions about things under my bed. I've even had a few encounters myself and I absolutely HATE beds with space underneath. And the fact that the word D A D D Y is arranged out on the blocks just makes this shot all the more scary.


Don't go in there!! The kid is so naive. Can't she see the skulls? And what is that behind the window? Does not even look human!! Ugh..


This photo speaks for itself. Nothing I can say will justify it. This is FREAKILY SCARY. Don't go down there!!


And this final shot brings back bad memories of that Stephen King novel IT that got turned into a telemovie. I remember me and my cousins were totally spooked by it but we kept watching it over and over. Sigh..

All I can say is beware kids. So many dangers lurking around you. It's not enough we have to deal with paedophiles and murderers and twisted kidnappers, we also have to deal with freaked out DEMONS from the other world. Lord have mercy on us all.

Protect the children. Protect yourselves.

Peace.