Random

My hair feels longer today. It's random I know, but as I was washing and drying my hair this morning, it feels as if it's grown 3 inches last night. I have a mirror in front of me at work and I keep 'checking' myself out to admire how pretty I look with my long hair. lol (sssshhhhh having a perasan moment now, don't tell anyone)

For someone who was born botak and has such little hair all the years growing up, to have hair this long is a big deal to me.

People used to think I was a boy growing up because I didn't have hair long enough to tie or make those little 'coconut trees' you make for small children, well at least I used to do that with my nieces. I don't see parents do that anymore.

I know many people who have thicker and longer hair than mine probably won't think this is a big deal, but it is to me :P

Cheers to long hair.

Hassle

Today's the 3rd day I'm filing up the US Visa form online. It's such a hassle. They require so many different information and you're not able to go to the next page or save unless you fill up all the required fields.

All's done now except for the picture. Been having so much of difficulty with it. Either the quality's too good and size is too big or the picture quality is too poor.

And deadline is today!

New pair in, still hoping for the old

Lost my glasses last Sunday. I've only had it for about less than 6 months I think. Left it in a certain spot but for some reason am not able to find it. Mum's been asking me to make a spare for sometime now so since I couldn't find my other pair, and was already getting a slight headache from staring at the PC for a whole 10 hours yesterday at work, I decided to go make one. The lady was kind enough to get it ready for me on the same day. They didn't have the same frame as the previous so went for this lighter titanium frame.

What do you think?

Wore it and asked the lady at the shop how I looked. She just stared at me for a good 30 seconds and I asked her "Not nice ah?".. She went on to say that I look very studious and people may think I'm underage.Oh well I guess I'll take that as a compliment.

This pair cost me RM320. RM20 more than my previous pair. Things are just so expensive nowadays. I remember when I had to make one during my high school days, it didn't cost me more than RM200. The hike in price is just ridiculous. And mind you, I got one of the cheapest frames.

Made quite a big hole in my pocket as I'm trying really hard to save. But still praying that I'll find my old pair, still prefer that one compared to this.

Checked my eyes as well yesterday and to my horror, my astig has on my left side has increased by 50! Sigh I guess my glasses will be one with my face more often now.

5 days!

5 days and counting to Koh Tao..
4 work days this week..

Yikes and there's lotsa to finish up at work before I can leave!!

This calls for super efficiency and effectiveness at work for the next 4 days.. There are many project meetings lined up and a trip to LCCT for our first Mount Kinabalu Expedition this week as well so it may call for later working hours this week but I've gotto do what I gotto do.. Can't miss those deadlines..

Had a list of things to buy for Koh Tao and managed to get them ALL and run some 'errands' last weekend.. Bought a load of things at MIDE dive fair, will post more on that tomorrow..

Macaroon Class

I love macaroons..

Been looking for a recipe to make it, and even asked around but no one seems to have the 'right' recipes.. Those who do have it will not share as they make it for business, so that's fair.

Macaroon classes are really expensive, ranging from RM190 to RM250. I tasted one particular lady's macaroon, and it was the bestest ever! But her class was RM250 for 3 hours and I did not want to pay so much. So the hunt continued.

And finally Groupon decided to have a promo on it.. RM98 for a 3 hour hand-ons class to learn how to make macaroon from scratch.. I nearly missed but thank God I managed to buy it within minutes of the promo ending..

The chef, Nicholas Pillai is somewhat a renowed chef in the local arena.. Just called him up yesterday to make my appointment for the class.. It's on for the 30th of July 2011 @ 10am.. Maybe Roger will get some in time for his birthday if they turn out good.. *wink*

I'm so tired..

..of falling sick. It's not funny anymore..
I've been having slight fever from last night..
I've been eating well..
Taking my dose of vitamins..
Resting well (Slept loads the whole of Monday and Tuesday)..
Yet I'm still down with fever now..

Arrrggghhh.....

I still possess wisdom

My wisdom teeth on my right side have been giving me trouble for month nows and it was badly infected twice. I've been meaning to remove it but the thought of having to go through all the pain and the word 'surgery' just made me delay the process.

Finally decided to get it done last Monday, thought it'd be best I remove them before I head to Koh Tao for my dives.

Then began the process of scouting for a new dentist. My regular dentist quoted me RM900 to remove both of them (RM800 for the bottom as it required minor surgery and RM100 for normal extraction of the top). My dental entitlement per year is RM1k and this alone would take up 90% of it. So I asked around, and finally narrowed down to KL Dental Surgery in Hartamas and Menara Dental Surgery in PJ State. But since I've not known anyone who's visited the Hartamas clinic, I decided to head to the PJ State, since S and her mum frequent that dentist and had only good things to say about her.

S was right!
Removing both of it only cost me RM350!
Dr Carmel was this small petite lady who was really kind and friendly. Most importantly, she was gentle. I won't lie, the initial stages of injections were painful and mum said I almost broke her hand by squeezing it. Dr Carmel had to inject me twice on the bottom to numb the area as the first round didn't quite numb the area fully. After that I could only feel pressure and different sounds, and after a minute the bottom tooth was out. Immediately after that, she injected the top area and pulled out that tooth. That one hurt a little bit more than the bottom because I think the area was not completely numb yet, but it only took about 30 seconds so nothing I couldn't handle.

Recovery has been really good so far. Doc gave me 2 days medical leave and I've been at home resting lots. Gargling frequently and keeping the area clean. Hopefully it'll heal well and fast before my trip.

Now I've got all 4 of my wisdom tooth out - no more worries!

My Weekend

Last weekend was quite eventful. L gave us tickets to catch Shelah : Life's a drag at PJLA. So 4 of us caught the show together, however the man and D had no idea what show they were watching and just tagged along.. I think D was quite taken aback in the beginning.. Lol

It was all about drag queens, got that pretty much from the title.. But what surprised me was that it was Edwin Sumun! I didn't know he rolled that way now. The show was alright overall, there were some dull moments when this drag queen from Penang came on to sing.. She sang like 5 songs! Highlight of the night for me was definitely when drag queen Arisha did a bolly number.. She/he/it could move! I couldn't get my eyes of she/he/it.. Hmm, sounds a bit wrong but it's true.. tassles all the way!

On Sunday, the man and I went to watch Bravo Broadway at MPO.

Siow and D were supposed to join along but they were not able to get tickets cos it was selling off like hot cakes! It was my first time at MPO, definitely not my last! They played and sang numbers from famous broadway shows like Cabaret, My Fair Lady, Les Miserables, Mama Mia, Wizard of Oz, Phantom of the Opera and many more..

The vocals were some of those who have been performing in famous broadway shows as well and one was even the voice for Anna in the animated 'Anna and the King'..

It was a classy event, and I enjoyed every moment of it..

After the show, we went to catch Fast 5. Been wanting to watch it for weeks now but timing just didn't seem right. They'll be playing till this Wednesday and thankfully we managed to get pretty good seats 5 minutes before the show started.

Like my cousin said - They should have put a steering wheel in front of every seat at the cinema so we can 'ride' along..

It's only the 6th.. There's so much more happening this month and I'm looking forward to it.

And her name is...

JUDEA MALAIKA JOHNSON

Seeing her tonight!

Can't wait to meet her.

3.3kg @ 6.11am on the 31st of May 2011 - A new addition to the family today..

The father just sent me this picture and she's lovely! She has so much hair and looks so peaceful in her mother's arms..

Change

Why is it that some people don't change?

It's been years and there are only brief periods with change then it goes back to normal..

Must I continue to love and accept eventhough they only run to me when they're in need?

Must I continue to follow-up and call to just say 'hi' if all I get are unanswered calls and messages?

Ding dong bell

A hairstylist friend of mine yesterday hinted that she would like to be the one to do my hair when my big day comes..

Then today, just like a couple of minutes ago.. My cousin drops me a message saying that she dreamt of me getting married..

I wonder if she saw my future husband's face..

Sun.Sand.Sea

The past two weeks have been hectic.. Work’s been ridiculously busy and every after-work day is just filled with things to do, people to meet.. My weekends are busier than my weekdays.. The whole month of April, every weekend was taken up.. I’m looking at my calendar for the month of May and June and every weekend has already been filled up.. Weeknights in May are also being blocked really quickly with just different items..

Much needed rest awaits.. 1 day to go…

Mask - Checked!
Fins – Checked!
Booties – Checked!
Snorkel – Checked! (Just bought mine yesterday – RM30 – low profile)
Sunblock – Checked!
Monopoly Deal – Checked!
Boat Transfer - Checked! (Phew!)

We nearly didn’t make it for the weekend though cos we forgot to book out boat transfers.. Plan was to just head to the jetty and buy our tickets as we always do.. Forgetting that it’s peak period and not knowing that Blue Water Ferry operator has monopolized the entire operations at Mersing and Tanjung Gemuk jetties.. I called them up yesterday to just check out timings of the boats and to my horror they told me that ALL boat are FULLY BOOKED! There is no possible chance to get a transfer for Saturday… That’s not acceptable.. Tried all other possible avenues including hiring a private boat (which is priced at RM2.5k per way – no way we’re using this route), calling up dive owner friends at different island to see if they had any ‘kaki’ in Tioman who could help us out but all these failed..

So after much negotiation with the operator, managed to secure a 230pm boat from Mersing jetty to Tioman on Saturday.. We’ll only probably reach the island at 430-5pm depending on conditions.. Whole day is lost! But I’m thankful that we even managed to get the 230pm boat.. Of course I had to pay up front the full amount.. Now we just got to pray that the weather conditions will be good and the boat won’t be cancelled or delayed.. We just have to now make the most of our Sunday and Monday there.. Managed to secure the last boat out from the island on Monday which is at 430pm so at least we have quite a bit of the last day to be spent on the island..

Best part of this weekend’s break – Free accommodation at Berjaya! I’ve not been to any Berjaya resort before but have only heard great news about it so am really looking forward to it..

Yes it's PD I'm talking about

When you think of clear blue waters, corals and colorful fishes - the one place that never comes to mind is Port Dickson..

I've always remembered PD to be muddy, teh tarik colored waters..

So when the man and a few other cellies went for a trip together the last time and said that the water in PD was now clear and they could even see corals and butterfly fishes when they snorkeled, I knew I had to go and explore it..

And explore I did..

They surely were right.. The moment we drove up to Blue Lagoon, the view was breathtaking.. Yea this is PD I'm talking about.. I love the ocean and anything to do with it.. And it's so great to know now we don't need to drive a good 5 hours before we reach crystal clear waters.. PD is just 1.5 hours away.. I really do hope that it stays this way..

We saw 4 full boats of snorkelers go out as well as a bunch of divers.. And we can only hope and pray that these peeps will not destroy the corals that have just begun to bloom..

I forgot to take pics but will surely take some on my next trip there..

Jump.. Higher

Easter is in 2 weeks... After a couple of years of break, I'm involved this year again.. Missed the first 3 practices and last night was my first.. To top that, I was the oldest in the dance group! These young ones are so energetic, agile and they pick up fast.. They're pretty awesome choreographers too I must say..

Was pretty nervous before practice cause I've not danced or stretched for sometime... It was difficult having to pick up the entire 2 verses and 2 choruses last night and learn up the flagging routine as well, not to mention a 'ballet' jump.. PKL does it so so gracefully! I'm still trying.. Look so retarded at times lol..

But all in all I'm thankful to be given this opportunity to serve Him.. To not take the giftings and talents He has placed in my life for granted..

The Easter 'production' this year is fairly simple compared to previous years, but I can see it all coming together.. It's going to be power-packed with the costumes, lighting and media..

But for now, I got to practice practice practice..

I'm a convert

That was the message I whatsapp-ed one of my cellie.. He immediate called me back.. He somehow thought I had converted out of Christianity.. lol.. We were previously having a discussion on F1 as yesterday was my first experience as was his.. So figured we were still on the same page.. Obviously not haha. What a relief it was for him to find out that I was talking about the F1 race..

Previously the mention of F1 would not excite me.. I even had a friend few years back who offered me tickets, pretty good seats but I declined, simply because I didn't understand what was so great about it..

But yesterday, I was blessed with some really really good box seats.. and so decided to go for it, plus the company was good.. :P

That was certainly not a decision I regret!

The adrenalin rush you feel, Oh boy, it’s exhilarating. We were treated very well, and I don’t think I’ve ever been treated that way before..

Went to the race without a team to support, ended up supporting Hamilton only cos he was such a hottie. He dropped from 3rd to 7th placing, but his teammate Button won 2nd place..

Stayed on for the night concert – Rain from Korea performed. He’s a good dancer, but umm that’s about it. Thought he was so full of himself. His songs were either titled “Rainism” or they had lyrics which read “oh rain, go rain, it’s raining, it’s raining” or he would have a backdrop of raindrops while he’s singing a slow number. Hmm many were actually jumping and dancing to his tune, including guys. I just enjoyed his moves but that’s about it..

Although we got stuck in the jam for hours and barely moved, or the fact that we had to walk quite a distance to the circuit from our carpark, the whole experience of yesterday was truly fun fun fun!

Next year, it’s ONZ! Maybe Singapore to check out the night race?

It's come, it's nearly gone

I had my first taste of receiving a bonus payout end of last month. I was pretty pleased with the figure I received and immediately did up some calculations on how I would spend and save it. Thought of the many things I’d like to buy for myself.

Surprisingly, I’ve not used any of it to pamper myself, neither have I bought anything for myself.

It went straight to tithes, paying up my credit card bills, taking parents out for a nice meal and buying them something, bought a gift for someone, Missions trip to Sri Lanka in May and the rest I put into savings.

It’s amazing how that sum has just dispersed so fast. It’s not disappeared entirely because a chunk of it has gone into savings.

I’ve been thinking a lot about building my savings again and have been working really hard towards it. Was talking to a certain someone this morning, and he said to try to put aside at least 10-20% monthly from my salary, that’s doable. Just need to budget well monthly and cut down on the usage of my credit card.

But as much as we may plan and budget, at the end of the day our priorities also has to be set right. Tithing has been a part of me since young. My parents taught me at a very young age to tithe. Even when they used to give me RM10, I’d put aside RM1 for tithing. So much so now that when I received my bonus, I could give the 10% and more to the Lord with a cheerful heart.

Everything I have and own at the end of the day still belongs to God.

Finally!

Got my OWD in 2006 and finally after 5 years.. *drumroll please* I'm an Advanced Open Water Diver!

Secured a really good deal during the last MIDE fair for my AOW course. However the catch was that I needed to do it by 31 Mar 2011, and since I was still recovering from pneumonia last year, I was only able to do it this year and decided the last weekend of Mar - which is also the tail end of the monsoon season.

Kin aka Mr Sotong said that visibility would sometimes be as clear as 10-20m and that weather will be spectacular.. On the contrary, visibility was an average of 1-2m on our dives and weather was bad!

But God was good as he gave us clear weather on the 2nd day there where we had to complete our last 3 dives.. That night however it rained so so heavily that it woke all of us up..

My buddy was battling a fever, nose block, ear block during the entire course.. I'm so proud that she managed to pull through and finish it..

Can you believe that we went to Perhentian Kecil but didn't head to Long Beach or eat our ikan bakar at Amelia's! That was just unacceptable la.. For those who've been there with us before, you know what we mean.. The last day on the island was supposed to be a chillax day at Long Beach but our 4pm boat got cancelled due to the bad storm, so we had to take the 12pm boat out.. Decided then to rent a motel room on mainland to shower, rest and eat before our 830pm bus..

We didn't see much on our dives and didn't really have a good instructor - Nothing beats Toby or Simon, so I hear.. Honestly I'm quite tired of Perhentian Kecil..

Time to explore other islands.. starting with Tioman end of April - but doubt I'd do any diving on that trip.. need to save up $ plus the crowd going are mostly non-divers.. So we'd probably just snorkel and chill by the beach.. Nevertheless, still a relaxing holiday to look forward to..

What's Happening?

I’ve been procrastinating lots recently. Don’t know why but just don’t really have the motivation to work as efficiently before. This is bad!! I've got to change.

I'm looking forward to the "Lat Kampung Boy' musical tonight with mum and colleague.

I grew up reading Lat comic books, only because mum loved them so it grew on me as well. Their comics were unlike others, rectangle in shape. I think I still have the collection at home.

Will be interesting to see how the musical will play out: Casted by Awie, Atilia, Douglas Lim, Omar bin Haji Abdullah, Jalil Hamid and Sandra Soghy, directed by Hans Isaac and Harith Iskandar.

To join or not to join

Should I or should I not? I've been waiting 2 years for it..