who send this..?

who send this..?
















First & foremost, a big Thank You to whoever sent this thru' Joaquim Florist & Gifts. Thing is, I dunno who. Only these, "CUTELY BUBBLY CHUBBY LOVINGLY" & SSSN serves as clues.















I think the first nick is very familiar lei, but I can't quite grapple where and when I saw that name. As always, my memory never cease to fail me.. Sigh....

Heard the doorbell rang goodness-knows-how-many-times. Woke up from my slumber and peeped thru' the viewhole and saw a guy reading a receipt. Looked like a delivery guy, lei. Did my mum order something? Why very blur, ah? Darn! Forgot my specs. Scrambled to grab them and opened the door.

"Ms Siti...? Here's something for you. Happy Birthday!"

"Huh? For me..?"

I am VERRRY groggy I tell ya and it took me sometime to fully absorb what he said. Oh did I mention that I'm still in my PJs at 10am? Signed the receipt and took the basket of teeny teddy bears & flowers. And the basket is HEAVY.

My take on this...? The person may know that I dun work today (my boss??!! no way! did you read that nick?). The delivery guy wished me Happy Birthday when I opened the door. What if it had been my mum, since I'm supposed to work, rite?

Knows that I drive, (the little bears have these suction caps to hang on glass windows) and noes my age (as my collegue said, only those who really noe me, noes my age. heh).















I just spent the whole night/morning staying up watching soccer and need sleep. BADLY.... And now my eyes are wide open and my brain in full force cos' I need to noe who send this... And I tot I can recoup back my days of lost sleep today... Sigh...

Own up, PLEASE.....? I can't take this mystery anymore.

been a long time- update

been a long time- looong update

Almost 2 weeks of absence. Pretty busy, lar. Works come piling up, like some sort of vengence for the idling during the whole of last week.

My bro had some ear infection in both ears and had his MC extended for another 3 days on top of the 5 days that was granted earlier. Interesting, huh? I guess being a lifeguard with an ear infection just dun gel.
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16th Sept

Made our way to the cemetary to clean up some relatives' graves. My parents, I dunno what came over them, went there empty-handed, save for a few bottles of water. No tools to clean the weeds or other what-nots. Thankfully, my uncle came with a full-sized 'changkul' (a spade of sorts). Cleaning 8 graves in the hot sun sure is no mean feat.
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I am so happy with the new IMM. I used to hate going there cos' it's always almost impossible to get a parking lot immediately. Now they have another wing with many, many more carpark lots. I LIKE!

And the Bagus! (subsidiary of Banquet foodcourts) now revert back to the self-service system with I am sooo much more comfortable with. And my family spent $66 at Daiso where all things are only $2; meaning we bought THIRTY-THREE freakin' items. Geez!

And I totally dig the beverage vending machines from Japan that sold WARM coffee or tea in CANS. And in many flavours, too. Coolness!
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Brought my cousin Imah back with me to treat her to a movie before she battle it out in her 'O' Level exams. My cousins Sue & Nor joined us at PS later on.

That Golden Village Plaza really cekik darah (suck blood) u noe. I had no time to do internet booking but I did get to check the available timing for the Indon movie, "HEART". There's supposed to be a 2130hrs show. However, when I finally got to the counter, I was told that the last screening for that movie had been at 1845hrs. Merepek, kan?! Of all days not to do Internet Booking... Geez!

Had a hard time choosing movies since I had a 16yr old with me who didn't bring her IC. And it's Saturday nite so tickets are selling pretty fast. Finally decided to make way to the neighbouring The Cathay, which had only 2 pathetic box-offices and one is actually for advanced bookings. Imagine the queue...

Got to watch The Devil Wears Prada (I noe, citer dah basi tapi tetap full-house). Got to sit 2 rows from the front. Oh well...

My bro fetch us later (refused to let me drive earlier on because of the definite jam) and had supper at Al-Ameen Bukit Timah. Ok, yeah it's my first time there despite all the rave(??) reviews on that place.










Those watching Devil Wears Prada will know that there's a scene where Miranda decides not to eat the steak that Andy had so painstakingly collected from the restaurant. In the end, the whole JUICY slab of sleak was dumped into the sink.

I was so affected by that scene (or maybe by the sight of such a delectable piece of meat gone uneaten) that I decided to order ... well yeah... Garlic Steak for SUPPER. Turns out, both Sue & Nor did the same too (one ordered mushroom the other, black pepper).

I dunno what is it that made us think of actually comparing that juicy $100+++ steak to the measly and not to mention OVERCOOKED ones we had that morning (supper, remember?). Does anyone have any idea how DIFFICULT it is to digest such tough meat at a time when your body desperately calls for some rest? Bad choice.
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17th Sept

Went to M1 to purchase a new phone. My current one is dying and I wanna trade it in before it renders being useless.

Still had a week to the end of my 2-year contract so I decide to wait a bit to save some buckeroos. Hope I get the bluetooth thingy for driving. I hate to shout to the speakerphone.
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18th - 22nd Sept

Work- Lotsa' them. Toodle-dee-dum. Finished watching yet another 2 DVDs of My Lovely Samsoon.

Oh ya. Heard about the military coup in Bangkok? Yeah, my bosses were supposed to go there THAT very weekend. 8 others in their group backed out. My boss's wifey was trying to cancel her flight & hotel bookings. I guess budget airlines had a policy that disallowed cancellations. I had that issue too when I tried to cancel my flight to Phuket when the tsunami happened.

Since the coup had been cleared- martial law or not, both of them went ahead anyway. So they rest of them who backed out just piled them with orders of what they want to buy. *shakes head*
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23rd Sept

My mum booked an ear-candling spot for me just so that I can accompany her to the spa. She was to do a FULL body massage. Can you imagine just how long I have to wait for her? So I dragged my dad along and my mum eventually gave her ear-candling spot to him.

Ear-candling rocks, man! But it's pretty disappointing to see that their ain't much excess from my ears. Heh. The masseuse told me there's this 4-yr old kid who had never cleaned his ears for 2 years (imagine that!) and the excess from his ears came to be about ONE inch long. Euuukk!

The spa is located at the Singtel Recreation Club, Comms Centre. The waiting room is just so... plush. I could sleep in there.

Managed to have a taste of the famed Killiney Road toast & kopi while waiting for my mum to get done with her FULL body massage. Their toast is thicker than Ya Kun, huh? But I like Ya Kun's kaya spread.

Ate lunch at Warung M.Nasir (next door to Killiney Kopitiam). The food is superb, man. But they charge pretty exorbitant prices considering the crowd that ate there are pretty well-heeled.

Food is cooked by Malay and guaranteed Halal but dun be taken aback to see that they served alcoholic beverages. Their tea has a faint cloves scent. Pretty interesting.












If you think that you life ain't stressed enough, try driving to Mustafa Centre on Saturday night, now that the streets are lit up nicely for Deepavali. You are VERY lucky if u get a good parking lot within 5 mins of driving into that street.

I drove 2 rounds before my bro took over the wheel and he drove another 2 rounds before we eventually parked at the public carpark located along the main road.

And dun even mention the crowd inside Mustafa Centre. I huddled behind my bro and followed him everywhere he go. I hate crowds.
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Anyway, to ALL Muslims out there, Here's to the cleasing of one's self, both inner & outer. May the spirit of your faith increase in leaps & bounds over this holy month of Ramadhan. Have a great time fasting!

blakang padang.. again

blakang padang... again

Ramadhan is around the corner. My parents have some errands to run and items to pass. Brought my cousin Sue along. And my gramma joined in at the last min. Lugged along things that are usually unavailable or difficult to obtain there, like french loaves (20 of them), dates (10 boxes) and kuih baulu (ours are supposedly softer).

Some adventure we had. Luckily my mum convinced my dad to take the 10am ferry to Batam (he had wanted the 1030am one with another service). Any later and we could have had a crayyyzee boat ride in the storm. Can just ROLL along with the choppy waves.













pics link h.e.r.e

By the time we got on the trishaw to our first stop - a house on the hill, it started drizzling. The drizzle later 'upgraded' itself to a full-blown torrential rain by the time we reached the foot of the hill. My mum, in the other trishaw, stayed put (like a new bride, like that) and I followed suit. The trishaw-man borrowed 2 umbrellas from someone living nearby (that's what I like bout the people here, so willing to help) and we hiked up the steep hill path with the rainwater gushing down the path like some waterfall. Did I mention that I shared an umbrella with my cousin? Nice.

So much for dressing up and creating another chance for me to create a good impression for this fella whose house I'm headed to (omg, I can't believe I just typed that- but heck it!). Sungguh tak tau malu, kan?! Reached the house with my clothes soaked thru, my sandals squishing with every step and my hair limp & dripping. Dun even mention the face. Euugh!

And the best part, I sat in front of him without realising it was actually him (he's reading the newspaper, you see)! Hahaha! What a joke. ME, THAT IS.

As quickly as it comes, the rain died down in like, 1/2hr. Just like that and the sun comes out and all is bright and sunny again. $%#&@! *i dun curse the weather. it's the bad timimg I despise*













pics link h.e.r.e

A trip to Belakang Padang is never without gorging down a hefty, superlicious spread at every house we visited. Well, except their tea. I guess the sugar there is pretty cheap, no? I can get diabetes staying there.

As always, they packed lotsa' food for us. I think my mum need not cook for the next few days.

no more korean dramas

no more korean dramas. well, not for now anyway.

If I slept at 3am yesterday morning, well this morning I slept at 4am. Note that I used 'morning' and not 'night'. No thanks to that Korean drama, lar.

I (finally) finished watching it!! I thought of saving the last episode for today but it was wayyyyy too tempting to just forgo it. Hey, LAST episode right under my nose, what do you expect? Well in fact, it's already 2++am, then.

Well, at least I got to watch the last episode before others who got their daily dose on Ch U. Heh.

Not trying to gloat here but I feel really horrible whenever I have to miss out on the final 20 mins EVERYDAY cos' I have to send my mum to work. That and the fact that I missed watching the initial few episodes.

Now I'm doing the 'headbanging' routine at my office desk. And my boss's wifey drove off with their car so I guess my boss is here to stay. Terrible. Really terrible.

And all these caffeine that I'm gulping down ain't helping my cramps either. Sheesh.














Blame them.

. . . . and especially THEM!

Parting words:
Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt. Sing like nobody's
listening; live like it's heaven on earth.
(these are highlighted in the final episode)

weekend hangover

weekend hangover

I'm just soo tempted to excuse myself from work today and just stay idle at home. And yes, by 'idle' I mean to SLEEP. That adventure in the rain yesterday is already taking a toll on me.

Thing is, of all days, I have a deadline TODAY, a frigging MONDAY. After a whole week of inactivity in the office (besides surfing the net), my boss actually gave me a job at 5++PM that FRIDAY. Less that an hour away packing up and leave. And it's the very anal kind of job that requires more attention than the usual stuff.

Darn those fat-assed authority figures up there who had others abide by their way of doing things that had us work our ass off while making thing a hell lot convenient (if not easy) for them ~ do things OUR way or you can forget about having these approved.

And the job wasn't even done by us. Sheesh!

Besides, my collegue's on MC so I guess it's a pretty wise decision to come, after all.

.... Excuse me, time to get some 40 winks. Watched that Korean drama dvd till' 3am this morning. And that's in spite of the reaalllly tiring day yesterday. I must have forgotten I gotta' work this morning when I decide to finish watching 2 dvds.

. . . blame them!

full moon? eat crabs

full moon? eat crabs

Tak bedek! It's an old wives' tale that during full moon, the flesh of the crabs is in abundance and at its sweetest. My family swore by that.

Even teeny-tiny crabs have enough flesh to satisfy ANY craving, much more those found in seafood restaurants.

Talk about seafood restaurants. Went to Chai Chee Seafood Rest'n (359 Changi Road) yesterday.

Fans of "Ayam Masak Kicap" (chicken in soy sauce) should try this "Shanghai Chicken" dish. The soy sauce is pretty sweet, not unlike the Indonesian ABC brand but I think they used the chinese dark soy sauce.

The chicken is darn crispy, fried to the bone (nibbled on the bones w/o realising-it's THAT crispy!). Ask for it to be extra spicy and they'll fry more chilli padi with the onions.


Yeah, last night it's almost full-moon.

We ordered chilli crab. *yay!*

It's the first time in many, many years that we ate crabs when dining out. The last time was when my grandma gave a treat and she called the shots.


Cos' my family is a shy bunch. We don't wanna end up looking like those people who eat bone steak at Beach Road. Really!

I dunno what came over us but I believe we've always had this secret yearning to try eating crabs like other people. So when I innocently remarked, "The moon is almost full tonight."

My dad replied, "Crab?"

"Chilli or black pepper?" my mum continued.

And the rest is history.... *yay!*

Actually it's not exactly my FIRST time. It's my 1st time with the family, though.

R.I.P Steve Irwin ~ The Crocodile Hunter

R.I.P

Steve Irwin - The Crocodile Hunter

1962-2006

BRISBANE, Australia Sep 4, 2006 (AP)- Steve Irwin, the Australian television personality and environmentalist known as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray during a diving expedition, Australian media said. He was 44.

Irwin was filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Queensland state when the accident occurred, Sydney's The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said Irwin was diving near Low Isles near the resort town of Port Douglas, about 1,260 miles north of Brisbane.

A helicopter carrying paramedics flew to the island, but he died from a stingray barb to the heart, ABC reported on its Web site.

His American-born wife Terri is reported to be trekking on Cradle Mountain in Tasmania.

He is survived by his American wife Terri, from Oregon, and their daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in December

murphy's law

murphy's law? you bet!

I was very, very close to banging my head on the dashboard. Voluntarily.
Bless my brother for his presence.

I may have been through it before but this time, it had felt like a train coming right at me with the headlights blinding my eyes. That was some shite right there.

First, I was so hooked on this Korean drama that I forgot the time. Then I got into the wrong lane and and my mum end up being late for work.

Fuel running low. Agreed to fetch my bro and have him accompany me to the petrol station. Asked him to top-up my ez-link. Then head to the nearby ESSO.

Here's where the fun starts.

Used my first card. Paying by NETS. Keyed in pin. Moments later, "Sorry m'am. Card declined. Please key in your pin again." Did just that.

Declined.

Oh well- 2nd card, different bank. NETS.

Declined.

3rd card, same bank as the 1st.

Declined.

3rd card, using Master.

Freakin' DECLINED!

Desperate, I tried waving at my bro who's in the car. No response. The cashier called OVER THE MIKE for someone to alert my brother. oh.my.goodness.

Oh, did I mention that the station was really busy? And there were like SIX other customers who made their payments when ALL my cards were declined? And I stood there like some fool, cursing.

Eventually made cash payment. Got my bro to add on to my shortage. Like I said, BLESS HIS PRESENCE.

Did I also say that my phone batt died out? Used my bro's phone to dial one of the banks to enquire bout the cards. MY bro's stoopid phone had faulty buttons and I tot' I got my bank account screwed-up too. Got thru' to the operator (finally!!). Was told that my funds were running low. *slaps forehead*

I had asked my bro to top-up the ez-link!!!! My pay has yet to be banked-in and I just transferred my remaining funds to my other bank (monthly routine).

Talk bout' the other bank. I decide to withdraw some cash using the card which was previously declined. Just to see if the card's screwed. Turns out, the card's not screwed. My memory is the one that's screwed. I forgot my freaking pin! And they bloody friggin RETAINED MY CARD! As in- SWALLOWED by the damn machine. Now I'm screwed. My moolah's all in that bank and my card's gone. And my VISA from that bank is the mini card. I can't use it on the ATM. aaargh!!!!!! I have to wake up early and queue at the friggin bank tomorrow!

Wait, there's more.

I went to the other bank's ATM to check my balance and withdraw some cash. DENIED. What the...? I swear I got sufficient balance! Tried the other card. Still DENIED.

Boy am I pissed. By now, I'm sure my cards were screwed-up. Went back to the car and informed my bro. "Did you try the other ATM?" *duh!* Was sooo muddled that I never thought of that. He took my card and head for the other ATM- grumbling, "Tangan kau niari kenapa, ah? Tak cebok betul, eh?" (What's wrong with your hands today? Never wash properly, isit?)
I seriously don't know that my hands have got anything to do with all that happened.

Turns out, both ATMs had insuffcient cash. Great.

Made way to another ATM further down. Finally got some cash. Phew!

It doesn't end there. Even my favourite channel bubbled on me. The schedule showed that my favourite anime will be shown on 1am but I guess they screwed up. They played another anime instead.

Uwwaaaahhhh!!!