First parents meet-up

Ok well not so 'first' since both sides know of each other and were even once seated on the same table at L&J's wedding. But last weekend my parents went over to J's house to visit the family, and it's the first time both sides have met since we got together, with the exception of course that our dads have met up a couple of times for business meetings.

I was not at all nervous about last Sunday.. I'm not sure how J felt about it. My parents have been wanting to go over for sometime and last week we finally made a date and stuck to it.

Dads went into politics and mums were having a get-to-know-you session and had exchanges of their Ipoh experiences. Both our mums are from Ipoh or Perak rather. It's always a joke that KL men find women from Ipoh more appealing, and I've got me some Ipoh blood yo!

All in all I thought last Sunday went by rather well..

The first of many more.. and looking forward to it..

It's back!

Ahhh so the drama last week was short lived. My account on Facebook is back ON, turns out it was going through some maintenance testing or something of that sort.

It's amazing what Facebook has done! I felt lost, that I couldn't be up-to-date with what's going on..

Somewhat unhealthy..

Gone, all gone!

I've been barred from Facebook.. by Facebook.

No reason given, no email sent to notify me just the same error message that keeps popping up everything I try to login, be it from my pc or phone.. used different browsers but it still won't let me in.

The silliest thing is that I'm not able to logged a report, because I keep getting that same error!

R logged a report for me and they replied him within minutes with a standard email, asking me to log my own report and click on a particular link to check for solution to similar problems. But guess what, the moment I click on it, I get the same error!

It's really sad because I have so many photos stored there that I cannot retrieve again, if they decide not to reactivate my account.My pc got corrupted and I lost all my pictures and FB was my only backup.

The idea of losing all my contacts saddens me too, as I communicate with most of them who are overseas via Facebook, as I don't have their email address or telephone numbers. Gone, all gone!

It's quite amazing how this silly thing of losing my account has affected me, but it does. It's been showing me that same error message since after lunch and I just assumed everyone received the same error till I found out it was only my case. 

O Lord, please get them to reactivate my account. 

I can't let him beat me to it

Even Obama wants to climb Mount Kinabalu. Read more here

Owner found

Remember my post of me being RM430 richer? Turns out that my best friend had transferred money into my account for my mum for her wedding cake order in September. But she only informed me after she saw my post on FB of me bragging that I landed extra cash.

Oh well, the cash still stays in the family. Maybe I'll get a pinch of it? Hahaha..

Mt. Kinabalu on hold

Image taken from here

I was supposed to climb this magnificent mountain in early October. But after returning from my presentation to my big boss on the progress update, we now have to defer this last Expedition to next year. There are 4 batches of climbers scheduled for this year, of which 2 have already completed. The 3rd one is to go in Sept and I was put in the 4th batch.

I've been training for many months now, quite inconsistent at times but still try to put it a once a week hike, swim or run. 

Thank God I've not bought my shoes yet, cos that was going to cost me somewhere between RM300-500 for a solid pair. 

Oh well, there's always next time I guess with friends. The advantage of this excursion by the company was that all the cost was taken care of. If I were to go on my own, it would cost me somewhere between RM1200 - 1800 depending on flight prices.

New season

Image taken from here

My new pot.. Where art thou? When will this new season take place? Awaiting patiently..

I’m RM430 richer!

Checked my account this morning and was pleasantly surprise to see extra cash in one of my accounts. So I called up the bank and they informed me that their site is going through some maintenance however only the credit card portion is affected. The lady on the phone confirmed that the amount was credited into my account this morning at 6.42am. I then messaged my parents and J to see if they had banked in any money for me, they didn’t. I still thought that it may have been due to the upgrading of their system, so I went to the ATM and checked my account. The extra RM430 is there!

So where did this money come from?

The code was CDM, which mean Cash Deposit Machine and I’m not able to track the person who transferred the cash to me unless I go to the bank and go through their cctv footages. The person however will be able to locate me if he/she still kept the receipt of the transaction. Won’t touch the money for a couple of weeks in case the rightful owner of this money does contact me.

But still, it was an awesome start of the day!

Not to mention.. it’s also FRIDAY!

Bittersweet Goodbyes

It's been an emotional 1.5 weeks. I've never been good at goodbyes, and that's just exactly what I've been needing to do. Just last week, 3 batches of graduates returned to their homeland, Botswana. I was not able to send any of them of last week. They've been here for 4 years now and by the grace of God, have all completed their Bachelors degree and returning to bless their home country.

I've known most of them for more than 3 years now and it's been a great time with them. Sad that I was not able to send any of them off last week but I'm not going to miss the next batch that's leaving tomorrow.

Onneil came over to the house last Friday night to say goodbye to my mum. She invited him over for lunch on Saturday as well, and he had generous helpings of her awesome Indian food.

Last trek @ Gasing with Moriti. We'll see him again on our 'big day'.

Another painful goodbye is going to come in September.. This one I'm not looking forward to at all..

Clean bill of health

So after a 1.5 year break, I finally went for my medical check up. The routine blood and urine work up. Got my results a couple of days back..

Doc : So do you want the good news or the bad news?
Me : Yikes, my cholesterol is still high right?
Doc : Good news or bad news first?
Me : Sigh, let's go with the bad news.
Doc : There's none!
Me : Whattttt?
Doc : Yups, everything's looking really good for you.

Praise God! Compared to my previous check up, my cholesterol is now back to normal (5.0), calsium is up and no more ketones.

Mum took a look at my results and carefully studied it and her comment was "Although all's within the range, some of it are still on the low side. Must still boost up your immunity. Take more half boiled eggs and chicken essence." Mum knows best. So I've been diligently taking my half boiled egg and vitamins.

Now to just keep it up..

Larry Crowne

Watched Larry Crowne last night. Intended to initially watch Transformers 3 (Yes I've not watched it yet..) but tickets were sold out. Can you believe it? Even till now the cinemas are jam packed for that movie.

Larry Crowne was a good alternative.

It was a feel good show. Romance + comedy, my favourite kind. Definitely worth the watch if you're looking for a movie to chill back, relax and have a good laugh.

If I ever learn how to ride a bike, I wanna get me a scooter just like this one.

I think I would look really chic in it. Don't you?

Koh Tao

A holiday that was much planned a year back and awaited for has finally come and gone. It was an awesome week away by the sea. What initially started off to be a hardcore diving trip for me turned into a really chillax time.

So much was heard of Koh Tao and we even saw some really great videos of our friends there with whale sharks, but somehow we saw none cos apparently the whale shark season is from Dec - Feb. However, someone did just see whale sharks at Koh Phangan about 3 weeks back, so it's really hard to say. Whale sharks are now being sighted in so many different locations in Malaysia itself  (Tioman in March, Redang in Sept).

The dives were not spectacular in Koh Tao. I preferred my dives in Redang to some extent. But we did see some really cool stuff like a 1.5m Garoupa, over 1m turtle which was nestled so calmly in a cave (I nearly missed this fella if it wasn't for my friends who pointed out to it), the cutest juvenile Harlequin Sweetlips, a huge hermit crab. And I certainly will never forget some of the underwater 'stunts' performed by some of the buddies, of in the case of Ms Siow, the double out-of-water performance she gave us.

I went for my 2nd night dive in Koh Tao as well. The first night dive that I did during my Advance course was a huge flop. We had a horrible instructor who didn't give clear instructions and I got stung big time by a sea urchin - not fun! So you can imagine my 'eagerness' to go on another night dive. But since all my other buddies were heading out, I didn't wanna miss it. We had a she-male as our Dive Master. She was a lot of talk but no action! My buddies were quite disappointed with her but I was oblivious to it all. I was busy trying to calm myself in the dark of the night. They say that it's so bright underwater with all the other torches and the light from the boat, but I still think it's freakin dark. This was the only dive that I held J's hand throughout the entire dive, especially during our descend and ascend. It's really dangerous to be holding your buddy's hand underwater but I was fearful of being lost, cos it was really dark for me and my rented torch wasn't all that great.

I only did 7 dives in total of my 5 night stay in Koh Tao. We were supposed to do a minimum of 10 dives but since the dives were so-so, some of us decided we'd ease up on the dives.

There were 12 of us on this trip, met some cool new friends and caught up with a few that I've not seen in over a year. 4 of them took their Open Water license, 2 got their Advance license while 6 of us did fun dives.

We rented bikes and explored the island of Koh Tao, found some really cool spots. We also managed to trek up to Two-View. It's called Two-View because it's about 610m above sea level (if I'm not mistaken, or was it 310m? hmm) and both sides of the hill overlooks this amazing view of the sea. One of which was the Sairee stretch where we traveled frequently and you could also see NangYuen Island, a really small island with a long white patch of sand.


I think I spent the most on food during this trip, apart from the dives. Each meal was a minimum of RM10 and we were having 3 to 4 meals a day. Some of them were pretty yummy meals, not to mention the regular chocolate-banana pancake dessert that we had every night. They call it pancake but it's actually roti canai.

One of the best meals was on our last night in Koh Tao, the rest had gone for their 2nd night dive but J and I decided to stay back and chill. We decided to try one of the restaurants that we pass by every night. Each time we pass it by, their BBQ smelled so good. We paid a good RM46 for 2 huge sticks of chicken kebabs complete with veg and fruits on it, roasted potato salad, coleslaw, Thai fried rice, huge portion of chicken with chilli and basil, a plate of white rice, mango juice and chocolate-banana pancake (this time the real pancake batter). I must say that that was one of the cheapest meal we had there for the portions we ordered.

I managed to not get so tanned during the trip but all failed on our 2nd last day there. We had to take a boat from Koh Tao to Koh Samui and the fumes in the air-cond rooms were really bad that we decided to sit out on the deck. It was a 4 hour boat ride of which 3 hours was spent on the deck. I covered my arms and legs with my jacket but a bit difficult to cover the whole face la :P So I came back tanned! I tan so fast but yet it takes months for it to disappear. Even my lips became so dark, which is so weird cos that has not happened before.

The only thing I liked about Koh Samui was their airport. It's gorgeous! Feels like you're walking into another resort. The people in Koh Samui were very cocky, simply because they know that they can squeeze the white folks dry so they don't really bother much with us Asians. Only managed to do some shopping on our last day there in Koh Samui, bought some goodies for the family members. We rushed through it all though cos we only had about 1.5 hours to finish our shopping before we had to wash up and leave for the airport.

Oh the massages.. How could I forget that! They're so cheap in Thailand, like a good RM20-30 for an hour, depending on where you massage. The prices vary from island to island. I was tempted to go for one everyday but managed to refrain myself to just 3 session throughout the entire trip.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any shots during this trip, so you and I'll both have to wait for the pics to be posted by the rest on Facebook :p Don't think I would return to Koh Tao or Koh Samui anytime again soon. Although we didn't get to explore the beach at Koh Samui, so may return for that.

Sigh I already miss the breeze, the taste of salt in my mouth, the waves, the reggae music by the sea as we munch away on our breakfast.. and definitely the company. So of which I know I won't see again till probably another trip next year. Holidays by the sea are one of my favourites! Can't wait for my next - which will probably only be next year, sadly.

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.