The clock just struck midnight. A few of us stayed up long after dinner (thanks to CSI Sunday night reruns as entertainment) to wish this special girl a wonderful birthday.
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So, here she is - the lady of the hour, and for the next 24 hours. *muah*
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Here’s dinner …
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… and dessert …
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… and the yummillicious tiramisu b’day cake …
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… and the BEST picture of the night!
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Happy Birthday, girl!
May your day tomorrow be filled with lotsa fun and cherishable moments!
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P/S - Will share the recipe for tonight’s dinner and dessert later. This post is all about Fran and the few hours spent with friends who love her dearly just before she turn **. It’s the nose, I tell ya! Folks call it the nose of eternal youth. 
Archive for April, 2008
27
Apr
Happy Birthday, Fran!
25
Apr
The Tool
24
Apr
X’mas Wish
Since my birthday’s over, V-day’s over, the next occasion I am licensed to receive pressies would be X’mas this year. Yeah, I know it’s still a loooonnng time to go but hey it’s never too early to start on our X’mas list, right?
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So, here’s item # 1 for Eleen’s 2008 X’mas list.
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Nice? Me likey *very* much. Very, very much!
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It’s called the Todd English Cordless Immersion Blender and the entire ensemble consists of :
- Base unit
- Blender foot
- Charging station
- 24 oz. blender jug with lid
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Thing is, I cannot get it from anywhere in this country and the guys who sell it will not ship outside of the US. Dang! Will hafta be extra nice to my American friends.
23
Apr
Self-Reflection
Tonight, I was told that I am stubborn and not willing to listen to others.
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I argued till I was blue in the face.
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Then, it suddenly hit me. I am stubborn. I can get rather anal about what I believe is right or wrong. So I will admit this. I am not perfect and I don’t have to be right all the time.
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But know this …
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I am only human. And no, I am not trying to make excuses for myself. I learn (or at least hope to!) from my failings on how to be a better friend, better daughter, better sweetheart, better workmate and most importantly, a better person.
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That is what Life is all about, ain’t it?
A journey of learnings in pursuit of happiness.
22
Apr
Happy Earth Day
April 22 has been announced as Earth Day to be celebrated worldwide. Amongst the activities initiated by the Dell family :
- In Penang,
- a silica gel recycling project was initiated.
- more than 49,000 kg of silica gel was collected and sold to a vendor to be recycled as cat litter. (now I know what to do with those small sachets in my shoe boxes!) - In China,
- a tree planting program is incorporated in teambuilding exercises. - In Japan,
- we joined 6 other printer manufacturers in a project named "Ink Cartridges Return Home" to collect used ink cartridges for recycling. - In Australia & New Zealand (ANZ),
- we are leading the IT industry in recycling electronics.
- total tonnage collected over the past 3 years in ANZ is over 140 tonnes! - In Panama,
- we are sponsoring a local Earth Day walk. - In Mexico,
- a guest speaker was invited to share some everyday tips for improving the environment. - In Columbia,
- we are launching the first consumer recycling program. - In Chile,
- an internal collection drive has been organised for collection of old alkaline batteries. - Globally, we are all strongly encouraged to wear green to show our commitment to the preservation of our planet.
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And my personal favourite :
- Google introduced a black version of its search engine called Blackle which apparently saves 750 mega watts per hour of power annually. Works same way as its white cousin but consumes less energy. How cool is that?!?
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So, what did you do today to help save our planet? 
21
Apr
Devilish Sunday
Decided to keep it simple for dinner on Sunday.
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So, menu consisted of only 2 items :
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Ingredients for Nasi Tomato :
*Recipe is from my colleague with some improvision of my own*
- Basmati (long grain) rice
- Ground ginger and garlic
- Spices - star anise, cinnamon stick, cloves, mustard seeds, cardamons
- Pandan leaves
- Tomato puree
- Can of tomato soup (in case tomato puree is insufficient)
- Butter (to replace ghee for health reasons)
- Nuts - almonds, cashews, walnuts
- Kismis
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Picture of the rice was blurry. So, no picture to share. Also, I wasn’t too pleased with the outcome. 
Too much tomato soup was added and as a result, the rice was too soft. Friends loved it though. Dunno if they were just being polite when they said "We actually like our rice soft!" :p
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Ingredients for Devil’s Curry :
*Recipe is from the WWW with some creativity thrown in*
- Whole chicken (remove skin and fat)
- Carrots
- Tomatoes
- Potatoes
- Ground ginger and garlic
- Spices - mustard seeds, tumeric powder, some other stuff put together by the spice man at the market
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Rice vinegar
- Sugar & salt
Picture of the Devil’s Curry as below.
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It really lived up to its name. It was the spiciest curry I’ve cooked to-date. Guess my decision to leave out the coconut milk helped to preserve the spiciness. Certain folks were begging for water halfway through dinner, yet they wouldn’t stop dishing more curry onto their plates!
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As usual, the food was gone in minutes. I had to keep reminding those folks to leave some for the last one who arrived late.
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Some happy and full folks.
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Erm, see my Sweetheart’s new haircut? Me no likey Too short and too convict-like. It seems the hairstylist ooops-ed and cropped it too short. Can’t wait for it to grow to a decent length. :\
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I actually cooked extra curry and even bought some bengali bread in case we ran out of rice. However, we ended up with abit of leftover rice (which was packed home for some folks’ family) and zero curry. And loads of leftover bengali bread. :\
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After dinner, the dish washers tried to recruit an additional member but he opted to ignore their plea for help and enjoyed his drink instead while they toiled over the dirty dishes.
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Of coz I didn’t let him get away so easily. We discovered his hidden talent.
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See how squeeky clean the table was? Can even see his reflection on the table top!
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After all the dishes were cleaned and put away, we sat down to enjoy a bottle of 2006 Semillon. Thanks girl, for your thoughtfulness. It was a really good bottle. Hope you got home safely despite your super red face.
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Since we started on the dessert wine, we decided to break our Sunday evening no-alcohol rule *sheepish grin* and took out the housewarming gift that I got from someone at work.
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It’s kinda like a boardgame. Except that it involves a board with 6 shot glasses. It’s called ‘Take A Shot’. Here’s how it’s played :
- Start by filling all 6 shot glasses with water.
- Each player takes a spin and whichever glass the arrow points to will be the glass that the player will have to down.
- Once a glass is downed, refill with vodka. Alternate between water and vodka.
- After awhile, we lose track of which glass is water and which is vodka and this is where the real fun begins!
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It may be the first time we played ‘Take A Shot’ but it will definitely NOT be the last! We may get creative and substitute the water and vodka with other potent alternatives.
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The night ended at slightly past midnight. Wicked, wicked Sunday night!
She just turned 67 but does not look a day over 47 to me.
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This lady has got to be the most generous person I have ever known. An example of her generosity was when I mentioned in passing to her that I liked Estee Lauder’s Pleasure and I suddenly found bottles of it for my birthday, Christmas, New Year or whatever possible occasion to be presented with it as a gift! I felt so bad about it that I had to tell her a white lie that I no longer like the fragrance. :\
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A trip to the mall is quite an adventure with this energetic lady. She walks faster than any 60+ year old woman I know and definitely faster than a lot of 30+ folks I know!
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She has so much love to give that it’s sometimes mind-boggling wondering how that small (in physique) a person can have so big a heart to give out such an abundance of love.
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There are many wonderful things she has achieved in the past 67 years and one of them is giving birth to an extremely caring and wonderful guy (although he can sometimes be anally retentive!). No, I am not trying to kiss your ass, M 
… but just to remind you that your mom is really a wonderful person. Despite her quirks and eccentricities, she has touched the lives of many - mine included.
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P/S - I managed to steal a picture of her from M’s FB photo album. Here’s the birthday gal blowing her birthday cake.
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I look forward to many, many more birthday wishes for this wonderful lady.
19
Apr
Free Test
In my years of clubbing, last night was a first.
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First time that all 5 clubs at the UPR (Upper Penang Road) area had their music turned off, lights turned on, and retard-looking guys speaking into the microphone going "Lelaki di sebelah kiri, perempuan di sebelah kanan … dan yang tak sure di tengah-tengah" (Ok, so I added the last bit myself but it sure looked like alot of ‘tengah-tengah’ folks amongst us last night.
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At the club where we were at, they randomly picked some 50 men and about 20 ladies for the urine test. Guess what??? I was one of the lucky 20! So, that was another first for me. Teeheee…I’ve always wondered how that works (Hey, I’ve always clubbed clean. So, I’ve zero fear of urine tests). I was actually rather excited about getting a free urine test! One of the cops even told me that they have even done free pregnancy tests for the ladies before. Whoah, FOC tests!
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Oh, one important thing to take note about these free urine tests. Make sure that the number on the cup you peed into matches the name written on their namelist. Before I handed over my cup to them, I told them "Tolong tunjuk namelist tadi. I nak check to make sure nama I dengan kencing I sama. Tak mau nanti kena fitnah kencing orang lain!" Didn’t give 2 hoots that the cops gave me a dirty look. I insisted on making sure my name was numbered as per the number on my cup before I was willing to hand over my cup to them. :>
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Outcome of the raid : 4 guys and 1 gal were tested positive. All of them Malays.
Hmmm … no comment.
(My mommy taught me that if I don’t have nice things to say, then better not say anything at all)
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Our Saturday night was cut short but by the so-called routine check. Real ‘potong-stim’. Luckily I had a reeeaally good session at the gym in the afternoon. So, I’ve enough endorphines pumped into me to keep me happy for the rest of the night.
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Of coz it helps that I’ve another great Sunday to look forward to. Am gonna attempt to cook tomato rice and devil’s curry this Sunday. Will see how it turns out, eh?
18
Apr
My Choice
Remember the crossroad that I found myself at recently?
Well, I have finally made my decision.
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Money is good.
Lots of money is always good.
Status is good.
Higher status is always good.
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… but …
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Lack of passion is bad.
Lack of passion for the work we have to do day-in-day-out is very bad.
Having nightmares is bad.
Being plagued by nightmares for the horrible things done during the weekdays is very bad.
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So, yes I have decided - I chose to be happy.
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I may not be laughing all the way to the bank but I know for sure I will be sleeping like a baby at night. And jumping out of bed in the mornings, excited about the waves I will be making for the day.
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Yes, I chose to be happy.
17
Apr
Happy Birthday, Jackie!
See this gorgeous lady?
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She is the kinda girl folks will remember after the briefest of encounters. If we gotta pin the pulse of any party to one person, she’d be it. No matter where she goes, this KL gal touches lives in ways that many will never dream possible.
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Our friendship started back in August 2000 when I joined the Dell family. We did many things together. From working hard @ Dell to working out at the gym to making waves in the clubbing scene on weekends and to sharing gossips on the men in our lives. Oh, and the cooking and drinking! We cooked alot back then, and drank even more. She was the one who introduced me to drinks I never knew existed in this world! And yes, she was the one who got me started on my Absolut collection.
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3 wonderful years just flew by and before we knew it, it was time for her to leave Penang. The man in her life was moving back to Sydney and she was moving with him. So, in August 2003, Dell lost a prized employee. Happy to say I didn’t lose a good friend. We kept closely in touch through the years.
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Then in July 2004, I visited her and her man in Sydney. It was like the time apart never happened. We immediately hooked back and were having so much fun. Although I had to do some work (it was a business trip after all), we still managed to spend some quality time together. I gotta say Jackie and Derek are the best hosts I’ve ever known. They throw the bestest parties! 
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In late 2005, they moved back to KL from Sydney and from March 2006 onwards, Sweetheart and I found ourselves making frequent trips to KL to hang out with them. Of coz it helps that their place was a plush condo at Sri Hartamas. Even some KL hotel rooms cannot beat the luxury of their guest room! Sweetheart and I were totally spoilt every time we drove down to spend our weekends in KL.
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They have since moved out of that place and are making plans to move back to Sydney soon. Truth be told, I will miss them an awful lot, especially Jackie. But I know that our friendship will stand the test of time and distance - as it always has through the years.
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I love you to bits, girl. Always, always, always remember that, ya!
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P/S - QM is right. It only gets better from here. Welcome to the club! :)))
16
Apr
Lifetime Imprints
The recent excitement on Sweetheart’s milestone birthday made me think about my past birthdays. I found myself strolling down memory lane - reminiscing on certain birthdays that are permanently marked in my heart.
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21st birthday
- Somehow, I still remember this like it was just yesterday. My mom gave me the customary gold key pendant with a gold chain to mark the day I turned 21. I wore it for a couple of years before deciding gold is not for me. Have not worn any other gold accessory since then.
- It was a celebration with 2 of the most important persons in my life then - my mom and my then Sweetheart.
- Definitely a birthday to remember till I am old and gray.
25th birthday
- This was my first birthday celebrated outside of my homeland and without my family and closest friends.
- It was very exciting to have Mexican guys serenading me just before I blew the candles on my birthday cake. My then-colleagues took me to this great Mexican restaurant (unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of that place anymore) in Sonoma County to celebrate the day I turned a quarter of a century.
- The memory of the romantic drive along Bodega Bay with a certain someone will be forever etched in my heart. :’) We enjoyed a really good dinner at a seafood restaurant overlooking the bay. Totally breathtaking!
- Another sweet memory of a different romantic drive along the coastline of Marin County (the other end of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Bay Area) with another certain someone. We stopped for some clam chowder at a quaint town along the coastline. It was the tastiest claim chowder I’ve ever had! I still remember my heart beating a thousand beats per second as I sat across the table from him.
- Yes, it was definitely the year my heart was going many different directions at any one time!
30th birthday
- I remember being totally carefree and living Life at its best then!
- It was the year I arranged a really good local caterer to feed my family and friends at the party.
- It was the last year I got to enjoy zero financial commitment (I don’t consider a car loan a ‘real’ commitment. Too small an amount and can easily be paid off in 3-5 years).
- It was also the last year I got to enjoy the shopping Life of nary a glance at the pricetag before deciding to purchase an item.
- I purchased my apartment the following year. End of financial freedom. But no regrets…love my pad to death! *Start of lansi moment* Hey, not everyone is able to do it alone - without any bf/hubby or sugar daddy to sponsor some dough, k! *End of lansi moment*
33rd birthday
- This was the most recent one. It was special to me because I celebrated it with Sweetheart over a romantic dinner at the tallest building in Bangkok. Blisssssss.
- He gave me my birthday kiss at the backseat of a Thai cab when the clock struck midnight. *silly grin*
- It was also special because I celebrated it again with my brother and some very good friends when we got back to Penang. T’was a 3-in-1 celebration that night. To mark my return from a tiring business trip to US and Japan, my double-3 birthday and also, CNY which was just around the corner then. My, what a celebration!
- Definitely one to remember for a looooonnnnggg time to come.
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Now, don’t get me wrong. There are still many other birthday celebrations which were special in their own way. It’s just that the ones listed above are, well - extra special.
15
Apr
Post-Birthday Present
After the excitement has gone down and I am able to catch my breath, I finally sat down to make this.
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U likey?
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Well, me likey very much and me happy with it coz his grin says it all when I presented it to him this morning.
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*Happy, happy grin*
I know some folks who will squirm at the below picture but I absolutely love it. Looking at it makes me happy.
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Why?
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Reason # 1 : It has captured most of my fav vege in one shot (I used to live on broccoli and cauliflower during my Uni days).
Reason # 2 : For once, I didn’t have to go marketing for them. Sweetheart bought them all fresh from the highlands.
Reason # 3 : I am 100% sure that they are all healthily pesticide-free. The next picture is the reason why.
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So, when we went marketing on Sunday afternoon, we struck vegetables off our list. Only had to get beef and pork. Menu for the night as below :
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- Boiled broccoli tossed in butter and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Then sprinkled with a dash of black pepper.
- Omelette with onions, larp cheong and cheese.
- Braised pork in soy sauce (Tau Eu Bak). It was our first attempt and a damn successful one at that! *proud beam*
- Japanese beef curry (Gyu Karē) with LOTS of potatoes.
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Our main chef for Sunday night’s dinner is a very dear friend. A guy who braved the teasing from friends and actually went meat marketing with us in the afternoon. That very same guy who single-handedly fried the 12-egg omelette (it is NOT an easy task, I tell ya!). He was also responsible for cutting out the broccoli florets and making sure the final taste of the Tau Eu Bak came out just right.
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Here’re some pictures of the man in action.
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I must say he worked really hard to feed our tummies on Sunday night. And yes, we are all still very much alive today.
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Some folks dine at the latest and hottest restaurants in town. Us? We have our very own personalized Ratatouille!
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Yes, we are indeed a very lucky lot. :)))
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P/S - Those guys who came late and were not captured in the above picture are also very much alive and kickin’ today!
Today was a very exciting Sunday. Mainly because of 2 reasons :
- Sweetheart went on a teambuilding trip to Cameron Highlands and came back with fresh vegetables, gorgeous roses and LOADS of ripe strawberries.
- A certain someone offered to cook us all dinner.
So, lucky us got a treat this weekend! :)))
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Let me start with the updates on the roses and strawberries. Will post a separate update on dinner later.
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Altogether, he got me 3 bunches of roses. Deep red ones, pink ones, champagne-colored ones, pristine white ones - he’s got them all covered. Here’s what I did with them all.
- Arranged a bunch of red and white ones in my wine decanter. Why wine decanter? I will explain why later.
- Boiled some syrup with some loose petals (to give it the rose fragrance before mixing it to the strawberry puree)
- Boiled mik with some more petals (Have read so much about that, just wanted to try it out. Love the taste!)
- Cut some stems off and decorated some shot glasses with the rose buds. Gorgeous!
As for the fresh strawberries, I divided them into 2 bunches.
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Stashed the 1st bunch into the freezer to make some frozen strawberries.
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Pureed the 2nd bunch to make the main ingredient for both the mocktail and cocktail.
Here’s a picture of the night’s centerpiece. I used my wine decanter as a 2-in-1 item. As a vase to hold up the roses and as a jug to serve the strawberry freeze for our mocktail and cocktail. The 2 separate parts of my decanter really served this purpose well. Everyone loved it!
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And no, the rose stalks are NOT soaked in the pureed strawberry freeze. It looks that way from a glance but remember, it’s a wine decanter, not a regular vase nor jug.
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Below are the ingredients for our strawberry mocktail and cocktail.
- Mocktail : Frozen whole strawberries, pureed strawberry freeze and ice cream soda. Served in tall glasses.
- Cocktail : Triple sec, tequila, lime juice and pureed strawberry freeze. Served in margarita glasses rimmed with apple-flavoured fine sugar.
Realised I only have pictures of the cocktail, none of the mocktail. Was too busy multi-tasking with dinner preparation when the mocktails were served.
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Here’s the picture of our blended fresh strawberry margarita. Slurppp!
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It was not as chilled as we like it. So, we threw in a few pieces of the reusable ice cubes I got from Bed, Bath & Beyond years ago. They chill without dilluting the drinks at all. Definitely a winner. Even the guys loved it!
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Next post will be on dinner by our very own Ratatouille.
12
Apr
Meaningful
Some lines from Eureka :
- Emotions - Logic = Faith
- Life - Dreams = Job
And then some more…
- Job - Passion = Senseless
- Relationship - Love = Bling
- Snogging - Skills = **** (Hint : A certain someone. Urgh.)
- Friends - Trust = Acquaintance
- Life - Risks = Stability / Boredom
- Me - You = Blue
The last one kinda reminds of us that ‘90 hit by Glenn Medeiros, eh? ;’)
10
Apr
%$@#%^)(*&^*%
When they said No, they don’t really mean No. They actually meant ‘We are not sure what you are asking but we will just say No to be safe’ - WTF????!?!!?!?
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I just learnt this hard lesson today about them arrogant bastards!
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After I put my neck on the line with the global team and fought for their ‘No’, they are now turning around and saying ‘Now that we finally understand what you are asking, we actually mean Yes’.
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If don’t understand the request, just say you don’t understand lah! Why tell us something you don’t really mean only to change your story again after I have made the global announcement???
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No way am I gonna allow you damn arrogant jerks to make me look like an indecisive fool to the global team! I will NOT allow that to happen. I swear on my Life I will not allow that to happen at all.
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I know it sounds horribly mean but at this moment, I wish Little Boy and Fat Man did more damage when they were dropped in August 1945.
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*evil tots in head playing over and over again*
09
Apr
Revenge is Sweet!
My brother drove some 800+ km back to Penang last weekend for Cheng Beng with wifey. As usual, they bunked over at my place. As usual, I was totally cool about sharing my pad with them.
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However, something happened this time round that ticked me off.
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My bro got too comfortable with my pad and starting behaving like it’s his own. Now what does that mean, you may wonder. Well, to this death-stick-supporter brother of mine, it means he will light up anywhere and everywhere. Boy, did that tick me off BIG time!
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All my friends who have been to my pad knows that it is mainly a non-smoking zone except for the outdoor balcony. In fact, I think my smoker friends spend more time on my balcony than I have!
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Did he stop smoking indoors after I gave him a shelling? Yes, he did but the minute I went out to run some errands or went into my room to take a nap, out came the death sticks!
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As much as I love my bro, I totally will NOT allow my beloved pad to be turned into a smoking zone! And being the pig-headed person that he is, I knew I had to do something to make him realise how serious I am about keeping it smoke-free.
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So, I figured out a way to make him play ball.
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That’s his beloved newly-redone RX8 which was inspired by Neela’s car in Fast & Furious. Boy, did he scream bloody murder when I showed him the above picture which I took when he wasn’t paying attention!
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Muahahahhahahaaaaa!!!!
Yes, revenge is indeed sweet. *evil grin*
08
Apr
Crossroads
There will be certain points in our lives when we find ourselves at crossroads. To swing a right or left, or to keep going straight.
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So far, I am happy to say that I have not regretted a single decision I’ve made in the many crossroads I’ve came across. Work-wise, personal-wise and family-wise. They have all been good decisions. I am happily where and who I am today because of all those right decisions at those crossroads.
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Very recently, I came up to yet another one of those crossroads in my journey of Life. And for the first time ever, I am stumped. It was not as easy a decision as the others in the past. For most of the others, it only took me a few thought exchanges in my head before I made my decision and moved on confidently knowing very well that I’ve made yet another good decision that will take me down the path of my choice.
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This time round. It’s tough. Damn tough.
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My mind is clouded with a million and one what-ifs. I have this nagging fear that this may turn out to be the first ever regret in my Life. Yes, I am proud and happy to say that I have zero regrets in my entire Life, in any aspect at all. Will I continue to be able to keep it that way?
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I weighed the pros and cons. I talked to good friends to seek their advise. I debated over it with Sweetheart. I reached out to more experienced folks in the hopes of learning from them.
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I am still weighing. I am still debating. I am still contemplating. I am still undecided. I am still confused. I am still unsure. I am still wondering.
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God, I hope I pick the right turn.
07
Apr
Belated Birthdays
On Sunday, we celebrated the belated birthdays of 2 March babies.
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The guest list was kept small coz not much energy to do any elaborate cooking due to the previous night’s big birthday bash for Sweetheart.
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So, only 2 items on the menu for dinner on Sunday (other than the birthday cake lah).
- Mixed Linguine with minced pork
- we mixed regular linguine with a gourmet hot chilli linguine I bought from an Italian gourmet store in Austin. Bad news was we overcooked the hot chilli linguine ‘cos was too busy cooking the minced meat sauce. So, it turned out too soft Wasn’t really happy with the results. - Mashed Potatoes with crispy bacon
- this was a HUGE success! I knew it was a winner when Sweetheart commented "Baby, you know I am not a fan of mashed potatoes but this is reeeallly good! I don’t mind having extra helpings." - Birthday cake was tiramisu. An all-time favourite with most folks.
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The belated birthday babies.
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After dinner, the owner of the dishwashing task (aka Sweetheart) recruited a helper. He washed while his helper wiped dry.
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Now, do not let the pout fool ya! He was just putting on the act so that we girls will come to his rescue and offer to take over the task from him. Of coz we were not fooled.
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We then called it an early night. Partly because most of us were tired from the previous night’s partying but mainly because we all had to work the following day.
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Overall, a FANTABULOUS weekend of celebrating, indulging, and loads of loving!
06
Apr
A new man is born
For many, many years, he has always prioritised the interests and preferances of others and shelved his own. Over a period of time, he has forgotten how it is to be happy and to make decisions purely for his own happiness. It took me a loonnnnggg time to break that shell he has built over the past 9 years of his life. It was a painful process but it was oh-so-worth it!
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Today, I am so glad to see that he is different man. Even his own friends have commented to me that they can see he is a much, much happier person these days.
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On 5th April 2008, he celebrated his third decade on this planet. Although I did most of the arrangements, I made sure he was involved in most of the decision making. One of the things I am very aware of about my man is that he hates surprises (especially on matters that affect his schedule and his personal preferences). So, I made sure there are no surprises to him when it came to arranging his big day.
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For as long as I’ve known him, I have never seen my Sweetheart this excited about his birthday. Admittedly, it was rather contagious ‘cos he got me rather excited about it too!
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After all the partying and celebrations were over and done with, as we laid snugly in each other’s arms that night, he whispered into my ear "I must say it was indeed a HUGE success, baby. Thank you for making it great!"
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We went to sleep with joy in our hearts and promises of many, many wonderful dreams ahead.
06
Apr
The Big 3-0
It started with a mini celebration when the clock struck 12. We had a small cake (thanks to some new friends we met a couple of weeks ago) to celebrate the first few hours of his day. Pictures were shared earlier.
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Fast forward a few hours and some much needed sleep later. We found ourselves in the company of some good friends enjoying a sumptuous meal at Ribs. Sweetheart thoroughly enjoyed his Baby Back. Yum! Yum!
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Halfway through dinner, we received a call from a dear friend who has moved to the other side of the world to chase her dreams. Mari, thanks for calling and I know I said this to you over the phone but don’t care! I will say it again - WE ALL MISS YOU VERY, VERY, VERY MUCH!!! Faster come back to visit us sometime soon, ya! And we promise that we will gather the entire of Penang (well, at least all the happening folks on this island! *wink*) to come out and party with ya!
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After dinner, we joined MORE friends at our favourite club in town. It started with some friends filling up the VIP area from 11pm and within the hour, the place got so packed that I had a hard time moving around to snap pictures. I did get some happy shots though.
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He loves dark chocolates. So, I got him a dark Belgian chocolate cake. He loved it, I loved it, our friends loved it and the folks at MoMo loved it.
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And as expected, they tried hard, reeally hard…to get the birthday man drunk.
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They almost succeeded but Sweetheart was insistent that he didn’t want to KO at his own birthday party. He wanted to stay sober to enjoy every moment of it and so, between the 2 of us, we hatched a plot to keep him from going under. What plot? Well, if I share it here, I will hafta kill all of ya!
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Despite all that, I controlled my own intake the entire night to ensure that I stayed sober by the end of the night to drive us home safely. Wasn’t even high when we walked out of the club at past 3am. Oh well, it was his night. As long as my man is happy at the end of the night, that’s what matters most to me.
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And of coz there is Ham, strawberries and what they do for him. Being the good friend that I am, I ensured he had at least one of the few strawberries from the top of the cake. Don’t ever doubt my love for you, eh!
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More friends having a ball of a time.
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Some joined us much, much later (almost 2am) but they still had a good time. Some even took a short nap to sleep off the booze and woke up ready to party some more!
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Although 2 of their brothers were unable to make it due to unavoidable circumstances, they were definitely there in spirit and mind. So, the remaining 3 brothers did some improvision in order to pose for a ‘brothers shot’.
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Jo & ‘Mirt, you guys were there with us that night. See your happy faces on their phones??? Yes, you were definitely there!
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And I’ve saved the best picture for last.
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He was indeed a very, very, very happpppeee man that night! Thanks to each and every one of you, 5th April 2008 will be forever etched in his heart as one of the happiest days in his Life.
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Thank you from the very depths of my heart for making it so special for him. *happy, happy tears* :’)
06
Apr
Just a moment…
Yes, yes … it’s kinda delayed but I’ve no chance to edit the pictures from Saturday and Sunday had been a full day from the yummillicious Kampung Melayu smoky roti canai brunch to the entertaining Spiderwick to the cooking and finally to the belated birthday celebration of 2 dear friends.
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So, please please be patient, k?
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I will try to post both the Saturday and the Sunday updates soon - hopefully tonight.
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And if I end up looking like a zombie tomorrow from staying up the whole of tonight, it will be because I have impatient readers/friends. :PPP
04
Apr
Before & After Midnite
Before midnight, we had a small belated birthday do for our Jonnie Boy at our favourite laid-back restaurant in town, ECCO. He didn’t want a big celebration. So, we kept it super small.
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Then, when the clock struck 12 midnight, we had a somewhat mini celebration for my Sweetheart.
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Why ’somewhat mini’? Because it was more personal between the 2 of us. The bigger celebration with many other friends will be on Saturday night. There will be a bigger cake, bigger group of friends, bigger hugs, bigger kisses, and many bigger stuffs!
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What’s a birthday celebration without birthday kisses, eh? Of coz he got his fair share of smooches from his woman!
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Stay tuned. Will upload a more detailed post on Saturday night’s celebration.
03
Apr
Love & War
You know, it’s weird.
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Some couples argue all the time. They claim it keeps the ‘fire’ burning in the relationship. I say I’d rather keep it burning between the sheets. *wink* Arguing with our partners are not just physically exhausting but emotionally draining - and that is the worst of it all.
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Some never argue. Not because their relationship is perfect (there is NO such thing as a perfect relationship) but because they fear confrontation and would rather sweep things under the carpet and pretend they are not there.
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Some argue once in awhile. My man and I belong to this group. Sometimes, we argued over the pettiest things and felt silly afterwards. Other times, we argued over the heaviest things and made me feel reeeaally tempted to walk away from it all - only to hold back when I see the look on his face, tears in his eyes and hear the whisper in my heart. But one thing’s for sure, I have never regretted a single one of those arguments. If at all, they made us closer. We learnt more about each other’s loves and hates, we learnt to appreciate each other more.
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Take earlier this week as an example.
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We argued over the silliest thing - his birthday cake. We ended up hissing at each other in front of the bakery and almost spoilt an evening of a good 2-hour workout at the gym afterwards. After some angry exchanges, I decided to ignore him and my own anger…climbed into the car and proceeded to our gym.
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Two hours of heart-pumping workout later (channeling all my anger and frustration at the weights and my abs), I walked out of the gym much, much calmer and totally prepared to call a truce.
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To my surprise, barely 2 minutes after we got into the car, he turned to me and said quietly "Baby, I am sorry for shouting at you just now. Truce? Still love me?" … then proceeded to coax me to discuss his birthday party plans that I have made for him. Needless to say, It was impossible to stay mad at him after that.
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The arguments may be painful (although I never regret any of them) but the making up is heart-burstingly GREAT! We ended up spending the rest of the night having a simple instant-noodles dinner and watching My Best Friend’s Wedding on Astro. He was extra, extra manja although I thought it was a tad too much for me. *shiver*
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All’s good. It was heavy with emotions but it was totally worth it. I have to say we got emotionally closer than ever after each and every one of our arguments.
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As Ronald McDonald puts it - I’m lovin’ it!
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03
Apr
Worldly Lessons
How did the week fly by??? The last time I checked, it was just Monday!
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Since I’ve taken on this new global role, I’ve been taken on a WILD ride of lessons. On working styles, people peeves, cultural differences and much, much more. Every single day presents me with a new lesson. Yeah, it screws up my personal life (hafta reshuffle my workout regime and sleeping hours, less time spent with loved ones, living the life of a hermit from home most days…) but heck, it has given me a level of job satisfaction I have not felt for the longest time!
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Let me share with you some of the rides I have been on.
- In China, shouting is considered talking. Nothing to do with level of excitement or number of folks going "Huh?"
- In India, folks are still very conscious of status. A person of lower corporate ranking will NEVER speak up or against a higher corporate level person even though he/she has a very valid point. I guess the caste system is still very much ingrained in them.
- In Japan, inability to understand or follow a certain discussion is best masked by dead silence. When asked if they understand what was being discussed, they just go "Hai! Hai!" although they haven’t the faintest clue! Then proceed to list down their disagreements in a follow up email.
- In Korea, I hear English but I don’t understand a single word!
- In Thailand, they are so soft-spoken that I feel like whispering every time I talk to them.
- In Philippines, they cook damn well. ‘Nuff said.
- In Australia, everyone’s their mate.
- In Singapore, Malaysians will always be 2nd class next to them. *prepares for Singaporean friends to whip me* :p
- In Canada, the sun is God. They know it’s there but they never see it. So they give their Malaysian team mates a hard time about their 365 days of summer.
- In Scotland, their sons break Malaysian girls’ hearts. (I miss Kierannnnn!!!)
- In Ireland, ‘or kau’ (read: Guinness) instead of blood flows through them.
- In the States, grown men with kids of their own still act like teenage boys. But then again, all men will always be boys. So guess this applies to men all over the globe.
One thing’s for sure. There is never a dull moment in my worklife right now!
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