Colours

Note: Happy B'day KH!
____

Life in black and white would be dull,

Flower (name unknown), in black and white

In colour

Which is why, we dream in colours....

Orchids, in black and white

Red Orchids

Beetle hidden amidst a mini bamboo bush, in black and white

In colour

Flower (name unknown), in black and white

In colour

Colours make us different,

Ants busy at work, in black and white

In colour

Flower (name unknown), in black and white

In colour

And make us stand out from the rest...

Flower (name unknown), in black and white

In colour

My darling(s), in black and white

In colour

Ixora, in black and white

In colour

Which is why, we are all beautiful,

Lotus flower, in black and white

In colour

In our own unique way...

A single rose, in black and white

In colour

-LV-

Good Morning, Malaysia!

Woke up unusually early today, 630am.

At the market now savouring my usual iced tea while ma and pa are having their usual hot 'cham' (i.e. tea+coffee)...

-LV-

Honey, I'm Home!

Red Rose, Grandpa's legacy @ 31900

When no one buys you roses, you just plant 'em yourself *lols*

Btw, I'm back at 31900

-LV-

Traffic Woes

Along Jln Semantan en-route to the Torture Camp; 8.20am; 9th May 2008

The 'beauty' of living in KL is its unpredictable traffic conditions. Something that I've yet to appreciate.

I woke up 20mins earlier this morning vowing to reach class early. But I ended up arriving later than I did last week, when I had in fact overslept!

Well, not that I was caught in a terrible traffic jam today, but it was slow moving traffic. And I thought I could have avoided that at the very least....

-LV-

Dream Holiday Destination

Note: The following pictures are posted with permission from the rightful owner.

____

My current wallpaper

Gold Coast, Australia - Second only (as to date) to South Africa in my dream holiday destination list. Ah, gotta work hard for all these perks...

I find it quite cool to be able to find an unpolluted beach right next to highrise buildings. Note the clean sand, and crystal clear waters...

You could see the sand... right beneath the clear waters!

So, how did the "Omigosh! Gold Coast is so beautiful" saga come about?

I was chatting with WK online earlier and he filled me in with details (or rather pictures - as I was pestering him for them :P) of his trip to Gold Coast last week. *Lols* It's amazing how often and much we talk to each other now; almost every other day. Flashback 14 years ago, we would have definitely not thought about this ever happening; we fought like cats and dogs!!!! Fistfights (more precisely, pinch-fights) included! It didn't help that we sat next to each other in class in Standard 5. Those were the days....

Note the different 'layers/colours' of the water. Clear, light blue, aquamarine, reddish, blue, white, dark blue. Amazing!

Guai los will be guai los whereever they go: Sun worshipping again! *siao!*

Judging from the pictures, I think he made the right choice to bring his parents to Gold Coast. The beach looks AWESOME!

Spanner Crab

Oh yes, they serve this thing called Spanner Crab in Gold Coast. Hmmm.... They look eerrrmm... poisonous. Unique!

_____

Note:

I notice a helicopter hoovering over my apartment for the past 2 days; day and night. It had the spotlights on just now too (just like what you would see in a Hollywood drama). It was flying rather low and I find it somewhat disturbing.

Is someone watching us? Or is this a new crime reduction method?

My favourite picture of the lot. Though the ' batang' in the middle gives me the lonely and sad vibes...

-LV-

Jungle Gear: Part 1

Popped by Tesco after my study session at Starbucks today.

Did the very first of my jungle/camping gear shopping. Well, had to get everything prepared by May considering the fact that I'll be concentrating on exams in June and that I only have 3 days after exams before I fly off to the jungle.

My catch of the day are as follows:

1. Mess tin (RM15.50 - thought it was a bit expensive for 2 metal squares)

2. Headtorch (RM39.90 - had wanted to get the cheaper one (Eveready: RM23.90) with only one LED, but then chose this in the end; 2 LED - brighter plus got 'spotlight' function and 'wide range of vision' function) PS: It will function as my book/reading light during bedtime tentatively until Expedition. Yay! This means, I'm equipped to read in the dark. Vitiates the need to get outta bed to switch off the lights after reading.

Total damage: RM55.50

*Lols*

I'm so badly equipped. Lacking 'professional' camping equipment. I used to grab whatever I could find at home for the few camps I've been to. Improvise mah.... But now, kena buy proper stuff...

My so-called 'mess tin' used to be some aluminium plate and headlights never existed, made do with torchlights. Plus, the Girl Guides used to have pots for cooking. But then again, I was a 'sleeping member' back then.

Hmmm... can I use a Sarong in place of a Foam Mat? Also, anyone has mosquito netting for loan? And I think I need to get a sleeping bag, my Coleman one is too thick and heavy to be lugged around; especially up to the summit of Mt. K.

Seriously...

-LV-

Green Tea Frapuccino

Ah.... Have been longing for one of these for the past few days. But the price put me off.

I finally relented today. Did my usual morning jog/run at the gym, had a shower, packed my Evidence notes along, and off I went in search for the Green Tea Frapuccino...

-LV-

Colourful Platter

Lunch: Fettucine + Garlic + Oil (my attempt at Spaghetti Olio) served with mixed vegetables, 2 pieces of leftover fishcakes and a fried (coconut flavoured) egg

My lunch today. So colourful! *I like!!!*

-LV-

Coconut Flavoured Sunny-side Up

Mum has just seasoned her stainless steel wok with dessicated coconut the other day and I decided to give it the 'acid test' by frying an egg; sunny-side up with it.

Why the so-called 'acid test', you may ask. Well, 'acid test' as the entire egg would be stuck like UHU glue at the base of unsuccessfully/unseasoned woks. I could recall the very first time I attempted to fry an egg in this wok. I ended up with only the yolk, as the egg white was GLUED solid to the bottom of the wok. Hence, I gave up using it. I love non-stick pans!

Anyway, it passed the test, which I'm happy with; but my egg absorbed the smell/flavour of the coconut used. Uggh....

-LV-

It's Back!

Note: My side-project other than CLP
____

Come on people!

Send LiVyen to the Jungle, babyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.....................

I hereby officially declare that "Send LiVyen to the Jungle: Raleigh Sabah, Autumn 2007" is revived.

Bigger, bolder and better... *tee hee*
And is now known as "Send LiVyen to the Jungle: Raleigh Sabah, Autumn 2007 (Now: July 2008)".

Pay a visit to http://sendlivyentothejungle.blogspot.com and drop me a line in the Chatbox to show some love and support!

These cupcakes will bring me to Sabah....

Shalia's Cupcakes: Fundraising @ 1 Utama, September 2007

Therefore, to my donors:-

You can rest assured that the contributions you made last summer are in good hands and will be channelled back to Raleigh projects as promised. No, I did not abscond.

I kept AND WILL KEEP to my promise.

-LV-

Non-Halal Post

Leftover roasted pork + Soy sauce + Sugar (loads of it) = Sinfully delicious!

-LV-

Vyen's Tortoise: Peek-a-boo

Peek-a-boo...

Vyen's 2 year old tortoise basking in the sun

Look who's out for some sunshine....

A close-up shot, courtesy of TTY

For the "Tortoise Growth Chart", please click on the link provided below

http://livyen.blogspot.com/2008/02/vyens-tortoise-lost-found.html

-LV-

Peng Nam

Classic Chinese Pre-war shopfront - Name of the shop carved on the pillar. [For the uninitiated, it is supposed to read "Peng Nam Restaurant" (Peng Nam Zau Lau - 4th word missing)]

But I do wonder, what "Peng Nam" means in Chinese??? I'm the classic case of know how to read but don't know what it means. Would someone kindly enlighten me? Pardon me...

_____

Had a relaxing 4 day break back home and I'm back down South again.... Ahhhhh.... May have another long weekend off next week (that's what the timetable says, barring any unforeseen 'ambush' by the Torture Camp authorities)... Well, we shall see.

It's May day today, thus, Mum and Dad decided to drive me back down South. Bro tagged along as usual. And we dropped by Peng Nam (in Rawang) for dinner.

Rawang Town @ 6.45pm (approx.)

It is a classic old school Chinese shop with marble table, big 'daun nipah' fans (errrrmmm... I don't know how to describe them, but it's those old school ceiling fans), located in the middle of town, serving home cooked food; something different from the 'dai chao' (大炒) places we normally frequent. It's a family-run business and food there tastes really really really (emphasis added) good....

The shop front

Classic Chinese Makan Place: Chopsticks + Soysauce plate + Chinese Tea + Bucket of Ice (Ah!!! Too bad I didn't have a picture of the teapot and the 'sterilising bowl' aka the bowl of hot water commonly used to rinse the cutlery and teacups prior to use.)

It closes at 8pm everyday, so we got there at about 6.30pm just before the dinner crowd starts to pour in. Despite our 'foresight', we were lucky to get a table as the 12 tables there were fully occupied but for one. 15 minutes later, a mini queue started to form outside. Yes, no joke.

And before we proceed to the food, I am duty bound to place my usual disclaimer.

Warning VCKY: Food pictures ahead!!!!!

We had our 'default dishes'; deep fried wanton, omelette, sweet and sour pork and a stir-fried vegetable (Choy Sum tonight). Btw, the fish with tofu tastes good too, though we didn't order it this time around.

Omelette: Alas, the picture does not do it any justice. Trust me, it tastes good.

Stir-fried Choy Sum in the background. Pardon my poor photography skills. Was more eager to dig into the food than to take pictures by now! :P

Sweet & Sour Pork: Tangy tasting sauce with pieces of crispily fried pork. Perfect harmony!

The famed deep fried Wanton with the sweet & sour dip: Tastes good, though I'm not a big fan of deep fried wantons.

(Chopstick + Wanton + Dipping action courtesy of TTY)

Rice is individually cooked in a steel/metal/alloy bowl. Old school man! And I thought I'm the only one who does this at home. Yup, I 'double boil' my rice in a small metal bowl at times (to prevent the kerak nasi (crust???) from forming should I cook it in the rice cooker due to the miniscule amount of rice cooked), when I don't feel like cooking 3 day's supply of rice.

Rice: Cooked the Old School Way

Total damage: RM48 (inclusive of rice and drinks)

-LV-