k-pop

k-pop mania

No thanks to all those Korean dramas that I've been watching, I recently dumped out 1/2 of my English songs collection in my mp3 player.

To make way for my new stash of k-pop songs. Yes honey, I'm talking about KOREAN songs.

I am now snubbing English songs for the Korean drama OSTs that are currently being played on loop on my player. There are soundtracks from Goong, My Girl, My Lovely Samsoon, Winter Sonata, Full House, Summer Scent etc.

Even the Indonesian pop songs (which I only recently rave about) have taken a back seat.

My message alert tone is the 1st 6secs of the song, "She Is" from the My Lovely Samsoon OST. My ringtone is a track from My Girl OST. My voice mail music is from Goong.

And I'm listening to ShinHwa, Se7en & Rain. Somebody save me!













But knowing myself, I know this phase will pass pretty soon. I get tired of things easily, you see. A tad TOO easily. Even the guys I like change from time to time.

On a totally different note, did anyone listen to Clay Aiken's rendition of 'Withou You'? I simply don't like it. One thing though, I sure hope that his ardent fans aren't a homophobic bunch. Go figure.

Goong 2

Goong 2

All ye Goong (Princess Hours) fans out there, it's official!

Goong II a.k.a Prince Hours (heheh!) with bring forth a whole new cast. Yesh, no more Joo Ji Hoon, Yoon Eun Hye, Kim Jung Hoon & Song Ji Hye. And yes, no more Shin-gun and Chae-kyung. Dun ask me how they get away without finalising the ending... Darn!

Anyway, here's the poster for Goong II.



















If you're wondering, "Who's that cutie who takes on the lead role??"

Well, it's Se7en, the other R & B hottie aside from Rain.

For more info, go here:

http://www.goong2.net/

http://www.goong2.com/

Hari raya *06

Geez, I missed it... The Raya wishabout'

Miss the great Hari Raya wishing brouhaha. Was sooo busy the past few days. Had to force myself to go shopping last Saturday cos' the mood still have not kicked in then. I tot' Raya wasn't till another week. Got the Monday off and spent it driving around, collecting and sending dishes to my neighbours & relatives.

Raya had been a blast despite one missing cousin who had to work. Tsk.

The weight I lost by fasting the whole month was eventually gained in just ONE day yesterday. Is that any surprise...?

Managed to visit more houses yesterday BUT it comes at a price- we have to miss out my paternal aunt's house. Felt really weird doing something that's not routine.

I felt really silly having gone to work right after Hari Raya. I was the only Malay in the bus to work today and there's no sign of a Malay at the foodcourt near my office. Then again, I'm glad I came (the boss's wife had asked that I clear the whole week!). Betcha' THE BOSS was glad I came. Managed to tie up some (much needed) loose ends.

But tomorrow, when everyone else returns to work, I'm on leave! On Friday too!!! Whee!
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Ok lah.... I shall part with words from the SMS sent by a couple of my friends:

"...Eid Mubarak to u and ur family. May all our ibadah & good deeds be accepted and duly rewarded & may all that we have praticed in this month (of Ramadhan) become a part of our daily routine for the months to come..."

"...Minal 'Aaideen Wal Faizeen Wal Maqbuuleen. Kullu 'Am Wa Ant Bi Khair. Insya Allah. Taqabalallah Minaa Wa Minkum!"
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And from me:

Eid Mubarak! I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for my wrongdoings. Naturally one is not perfect and there are errs that I'm aware and those that I'm not aware of, be it in my conversations or actions. Some may be intentional and some are not.

I know that it's really funny that one should take the opportunity to seek forgiveness only once a year. And goodness knows how sincere one is, when asking for forgiveness or when 'forgiving' someone.

But I guess Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word (that's quoting from Elton John's famous ditty), after all. Since we're given the chance to go all out with this virtuous action, might as well get on with it. To make up for those moments when muttering 'sorry' could have saved one from the brief pain of being hurt emotionally when a tactless remark or action was made.

Well, you never know..... Rite?













My fave picture from yesterday.

Goong crayzee

Goong crayzee....

Many thanks ah, to this show- for bringing out the shallowness in me. ULTIMATE shallowness; as I ogle at Princes and adore the Princess and despise the love rival.

...as I yearn for the lovely dresses and choose between the fabulous hairstyles. And take delight in those horse-ridings and sleek limousines.

Sigh..... Yes, my head are high up amidst the fluffy clouds. Fluffy ROYAL clouds.

And until my dear cousin pass me the DVD, I shall appease myself with the numerous (edited) videos from you tube, for which I kept late nights just to watch over and over.

Somebody help me..!

I think by now, I may already have an idea as to how the story goes BUT all is still not well till I get the friggin' DVD. For which I may end up sleeping at least at 4am EVERYDAY just to finish watching the show pronto. Well, that's what I did with the Samsoon DVD.















I am getting to be as tacky as these pics, or am I not? Rite..? Rite..??

Ms. SG's experience

Miss Singapore relating her experience:
Turkish Air TK 1476 Hijack

I must have been really backdated; seeing the date that this was blogged was weeks ago. But it was such an interesting read so I decide to put the link here.

Please dun ask me what beauty pageant that she was part of, cos' I really have no idea. Pardon my ignorance.

http://blog.miatan.com/

Excerpts from her blog:

"..I, on the other hand, am surprised that NONE of the local press asked me for a 1st hand account or a timeline of the whole incident!
They asked how we felt, what thoughts went through our mind but no one was really interested in the actual happenings.

So here i am, gonna blog it out.

Coz like i've always said, I AM MY OWN PAPARAZZI and over here, the words come out just the way i would have liked them to be written."

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"...The lights came back on and the guy who claimed to have a health problem told us that we've been hijacked!
Cause the passengers were conversing in Albanian on their phones. Their worried families and relatives had called them after watching the news of the hijack on CNN!!

THE WHOLE WORLD except all of us on board knew we were hijacked!

I called my mom again and she also found out from my sister in the states that we've been jacked!"

Edit: I found out it's Miss Globe International 2006. So there.

kylie's baaack...!

kylie's baaack...!

Anybody watched The Kylie Interview on Ch. V last night? She sure looks all rosy and glowing. Maybe it's the make up but she definitely looks like she is on the right path to recovery.
FYI, she's been undergoing treatment for breast cancer for the past year.

Look at her. Ain't she gorgeousss (say it with an Aussie twang for best effect) ?





























Hearing her talk about her loved ones who have been there for her, Paris (her beau's homeland, where she went to recuperate), her treatment, going to Sri Lanka, how different it had been when visiting her favourite charity- a certain children's hospital (specifically those who contract cancer) eversince she contract it herself. Shaving off her golden locks and her first photos since treatment (taken by her inexperienced-photgrapher-of-a-beau, which looked really good, by the way) and also of her upcoming tour (yes she IS continuing with the tour). Then there's the new children book, Showgirl Princess (which looks good enough for ME to purchase it for MYSELF).

Oh, I'm never really a fan of hers. Now, I think I AM.

This interview had been wholesome, inspiring and highly motivational. She had sounded so genuine and the the tears that almost spilled really touched me. She rocks!

And Cat Deely, the interviewer- she looks good, too.















Maybe it's the make-up, lah. Specifically the lip gloss. Did you see that lip gloss?? Man, I need to get one for myself.

poly mates iftar

poly mates iftar

finally met up again after like.... MANY months. Just sick and tired of counting the duration between which we met up. Everyone is just so busy, what with the irregular working hours of some and the crazy school projects of another.

It's weird when for 3 years you see one another almost everyday, from 8am to 10pm and been almost everywhere together and now we have to make do with one another's absence. And it's been 4 years!

The initial 9 pax who were meant to be there eventually dwindled down to 5. Like I said... beezee people. But I guess that makes it more intimate. Bigger crowds are fun, yeah. Considering how crazy we get with each other. But I guess we mellowed somehow and the lesser there is, the more comfortable things get. Esp. when you're so used to some of the others' presence.

And the ideas we have for early next year, I really appreciate it. I guess it will be the break that we really need. In the past, Kai would have said, "Is that a plan...?"

And I'll reply, "Lat's make it work!" Pleaseeee.....?












Al-Hamra @ Holland Village.









Just some of the spread we had.


(L) The consistency of this Turkish coffee is sooo thick that it reminds us of choc fudge.
(R) Desserts & (more) coffee and Starbucks HV, our old haunt back then.





(L) Bas & his babe, Inder.

(R) Kai & Khamz.



Must have been ages since I last went to Holland V. Say... 2 years??! That place changed a lot, man! The food centre has been totally revamped. And there's a new carpark? As in a building meant to park cars in, hokay.

which sports car are you..?

I'm a Ford Mustang!

You're an American classic -- fast, strong, and bold. You're not snobby or pretentious, but you have what it takes to give anyone a run for their money.

"Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Eh, 'UP' sikit lah. GT 40, ker.... Mustang, jer?

Ya Salaam no more...

Ya Salaam no more...













...see?

Was surprised when my dad told me that the place is now empty, with everything, including the outdoor seating shelter being reinstated back to the initial layout.

Apparently I think they've come to the end of their tender and another bigger and more established company made a higher bid for this space.

Things are never going to be the same again.

Those residing in the east will know how nostalgic this place had been. Right when this place used to be called Malik, then Riduan and finally, Ya Salaam, there had been this sense of familiarity when being there. Maybe it's the presence of stalls like Jessie (chinese noodles) & Musa (Ikan Bakar, roti john, pisang goreng...) that have been there since the early days which contribute to such nostagic feelings.

This fasting month, I had looked forward to the makeshift stalls set up outside the coffee shop, selling all varieties of goodies meant for the breaking of fast and yet.....

I heard thru' the rumour mill that former tenants may not be able to take up space inside the new establishment. If that is true, I wonder where they'll move to. Some of the stuff there, you just can't get it anywhere else.

Sigh....

overdue (bdae) dinner

overdue (bdae) dinner
Fri - 06th Oct '06

Initially tot' that I have to OT that Fri. Then my boss left early, meaning that I dun really have to. But then again, I'm still just knee deep in my given task by 4pm so I guess working late was inevitable.

And I had made reservations for dinner that night. Geez!

Instead of making good of, "I'm coming home first, then we set off from there!" yes, the exclamation mark IS there becos' I'm happy at the tot' of coming home early (or so I thought), I had my family fetch me at my workplace by 8pm instead. I only had biscuits and hot cereal drink for the break fast (courtesy of the office pantry), knowing that I'll be gorging down a feast later on.
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Anyway, I FINALLY got to treat my family to the looong overdue birthday dinner. EIGHT days to be exact.

My mum had been yearning to eat some 'real steak' cos she so sick of chomping down on the highly indigestible overcooked meat from Western food stalls. And she loves her steak, my mum. Go anywhere, she'll order just that.

So I brought them to Eatzi Steakhouse at Eastpoint Mall.

The food there is not bad. My mum LOOOVES her steak (I asked for medium-done). And I love the service. Attentive staff and consistent follow-ups and the good timing.

Having once worked in that line, I know what they have to go through and I get pretty weak-kneed when it comes to tipping them for good service. They deserve it, dun they?



And the recommendation of the promotional mixed-fruit juice of honeydew & orange proved 'fruitful' (pun intended).



I guess they used seasonal vegetables as a side dish and we got brinjals (not really unlike the one u get at nasi padang stalls). Non-brinjal eaters will surely fret. And I totally dig the baked potato. Served with sour cream, bacon bits & chives, the simplicity is refreshing.



I tot' my bro's order of seafood-in-a-pan is such a small portion (as compared to Fish & co.) but he himself can't finish it (2 ladies in the next table shared that same dish between themselves).



My bro got mango ice-cream for dessert & I got the Chocolate Profiteroles with Ice Cream. Simply put; chocolate chouxs served with ice-cream. 3 pieces. Enough for my parents and me.

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The haze that night was pretty bad but instead of staying away from the bad air, we chilled at East Coast beach instead. Hey, the lantern festival has begun. It's not often that you see so many families tot-ing teeny-tiny lanterns at one time! And the kids holding them were soo adorable!

not-so-discreet surprise

not-so-discreet surprise
sat-30th sept '06

Is this getting to be a routine? The 2nd year this happens, albeit with different people. Everytime that day comes near, my suspicion shall run deep. Gotta' keep that in check.

I love suspense but I hate surprises. Pleasant or not.

Last year it had been my maternal side.

This year, it's my dad's side. A whole brood of them. And I had no inkling of it!

Earlier that week, my mum had warned me not to go out that Saturday, saying that she 'gonna cook' and need help.

I woke up that Saturday morning to see that my mum planned to cook a feast. 8 seabass, 7kg of crabs, 5kg of chicken and 2kg of prawns. Seafood fest? And my poor dad hard at work cutting onions, garlic etc. So THIS is what she meant by 'cooking'.

Late in the afternoon, she asked my dad and I to get some PAPER PLATES. I tot that she had meant to send that excess food to the neighbours. Apparently, whoever the food is for, is actually COMING OVER. Okayyyy.....

Then 2 of my cousins came. The next 2 batches of cousins who came really drew my suspicion. Why? Cos' I only see them at my home during Hari Raya. Yes, a once-a-year affair. So why are they here? And 5 mins before break-fast, came the brood. All the 11 kids and my 3 cousins.

And you know what the cute thing is?

Saw one of my cousins carrying a big, white box (obviously with a cake) and she was trying to be as 'discreet' as possible, hiding behind a wall. Ah, I see. A surprise, eh?

Another one of my cousins came and and went straight to my mum. Next thing I knew, my mum called me into the kitchen. When I turned back, my kitchen sliding door was closed. Wah, can't you all be LESS OBVIOUS? Tsk.




(L) 1/2 the brood. More in the kitchen.

(R) Just some of the dishes.

(L) Chilli (flower) crab

(R) Sweet & Sour seabass

Seeing there's so many food, it took sometime before evryone was done eating. The kids were getting restless. I went to wash the dishes. The kitchen sliding door closed again. OH WELL....

Talk about being discreet....

Then I was called out. And almost crashed into someone holding THIS.

Dark Chocolate Truffle Cake from Royal.

Danial & Ulfa are my nephew & niece, seen here.

That's us September babies cutting the cake.

So there was my 'not-so-discreet' surprise. But I'm touched nevertheless. Thank you all of you who came that day and (almost) brought the house down with the birthday song, which sounded more like a scream-fest.

pancit, liao

tayar pancit, liao

First time man! Luckily it's not a burst tyre instead. Tubeless tyres tend to have a higher chance of that happening.

I thought last night had been sh**ty but to think of it, there are many things that I ought to be grateful for:

- my bro is around (the past few nights, he had either been sleeping or busy)
- he's the driver (he noticed the funny sound coming from the back and how the car seem 'draggy'. I may not have noticed if it was me driving!)
- we barely made it out of the carpark (so we manage to avoid the embarassing change-tyre-by-roadside spectacle)
- it's at night (less people around, cooler temperature and my neighbour is home)
- yes, my neighbour Hafiz (he handled the situation and did most of the work)
- my bro's best fren (who despite not being there gave a good tip: use 'body weight' to unscrew the bolts)

My bro had experience changing tyres - of 3 TONNERS (ARMY trucks). So that 14inch baby had him scratching his head, hence the call for help to our reliable neighbour. Luckily my dad & I pumped the spare tyre we had in the boot. And I know where the tools & jack are kept (my bro didn't even know we have a spare tyre!).

We were sooo.... lost. When told of the flat tyre, my first thought was, "What's the number for AAA? Can insurance help?"















I thought I can learn a thing or 2 about tyre-changing but NO - my bro had me rush over to the shop to buy them drinks instead. hmmpf!

So until my bro is free to head to the workshop to have that tyre replaced, we just have to bear with the eyesore, that is this odd rear tyre with the black hubcap amongst the other 3 with the alloy sports rims. Like pirate, liddat.

You know what's worse than having to change the tyre? The fact that my mum had to walk to work instead, while trying to be on time beacause the time she had is for when she's DRIVEN to work, NOT walk. And no, no cabs in sight.

And she was grumbling non-stop, about us being too complacent and taking things for granted. Not making regular checks to see if all is in working order... etc. And as she stormed off into the night, I was secretly hoping that the anger she's venting will make her walk faster so she can reach work on time (you know, like some kind of 'turbo' power??).

And she was saying that some bad kid had punctured our tyre on purpose just because we know the identity of the fella who's been stealing shoes & clothes at our block (NO, I dun think THAT'S what happened). And just when we didn't want to disturb our sleeping dad, my mum actually called him in anger to complain. Poor dad.

BTW, the source of the puncture is still a mystery. Hope the tyre can be reused. Need money for Hari Raya, liao.

I found the senderssss!

I found the senderssss!

Hah! My instincts never betray me. It's your darn good acting that kept me in doubt. Right when I serkap jarang and question you all straight-in-the-face I knew I've shaken your foundation. My never-say-die questioning eventually cause you to falter, eh?

And when you asked what I felt, on that day when I received it, I chose a hard-a**ed tactic by saying that I was too sleepy to feel anything or even feel touched. And you jumped in-your-own-skin somewhat and labled me "unromantic". Aww.... You're hurt..? It's very hard to hold back a secret, ain't it???

I managed to discover only 3 of you. The last one really, REALLY caught me by surprise.











S S S N ?

'S' no. 1:





S-umiyati


'S' no. 2:





S-alawate

The 'N' (also the ringleader) :







N-orhayati


And the other 'S' who caught me by surprise....







S-ahruwardi - my very own BROTHER....!

Hello, you deserve an award, la dey! for 3 days you kept a straight face, pretending like you know nothing.... Cheh!

Anyway, thank you so much peeps for the pleasant surprise, albeit keeping me in the dark for 3 freaking day, knowing that I'm as curious as any cat out there and it's been really hellish for me.

Oh, I gave way and eventually told them that I've been genuinely touched by the gesture. Hey, I'm not that "un-romantic" after all!