Random Googling

This sounds as if I'm turning into some stalker-like material. Don't worry because I'm not.

Some moment out of the blue, I googled up a friend's name randomly recently, and I found out more about him than I currently do. Nothing hugely surprising though. I knew that he's into photography all these while, but it turns out that he's really got a knack for it. Not bad eh!!!!

Must get him to do some flattering shots of me! Those with instant slimming effects, and those that cut off the double chin! He He He!!!!

-LV-

Spared

My head was momentarily on the chopping board,

For a couple of days, my fate loomed like dark clouds before the rain,

I was to be 'deployed' to a Sessions Court at a state somewhere in the Eastern-Central part of Malaysia for my services were needed there,

I waited,

It was finalised at 1645hours today,

I am staying put where I am at the moment,

Therefore, I need not reveal my trump card,

THANK GOD...

-LV

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

-LV-

Spare A Moment's Thought

Things aren't always entirely about yourself... It helps to view things beyond your personal sphere... Only then, you'd realise that things aren't always about you alone... Put yourself in that someone's shoes, and you'd know what it's like being him/her...

Political Sandiwaras

Sandiwara (Malay) (n): soap opera

____

Defections, Resignations and Deaths...

They spice up the political scene in the country these days...

By-elections soon to come...

Political sandiwaras abound...

-LV-

Eat, Eat, Eat!

A long-time friend was telling me about his long hours at work, and how he would often conveniently 'forget' to have his lunch and dinner. He then told me of how often his better half would nag him for such 'forgetfulness'.

I am reminded of how often I would go into a similar nag-mode lately.

Maybe I should quit doing that and be more pro-active. I should probably pry open that certain someone's mouth as illustrated below (or maybe bigger)...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/momnurse/1065264060/

And then proceed to shove food down that certain someone's throat. Save energy, no need to nag! Muahahaha!!!! :P

-LV-

Missing Manchester

Jenny called me a couple of days ago. The call which was initially for 'official purposes' inevitably end up being gossip-filled (as usual).

We talked about work, and how mundane life has turned out for us. This is in a way true, working life has restricted our liberty to go where ever we desire, when ever we want to! It's clipped our wings and freedom to travel! The thought of skipping a day or two of classes for a long weekend break in Ibiza is now a day-dream!

We talked about how much we missed Manchester and how Europe seems 'untouchable' for us right here, right now; although the GBP has dropped to an all-time low.

We reminisced about her Subway job, my bancuh-kopi job; and how we stuck to those jobs despite the fact that we hated such brainless activities which only required manual labour. I recall having to read till 3am for my thesis, waking up at 6am, and walking to work by 7am, with the MP3 blaring loud music through my ears, armed with a thermos mug of coffee in my hand, making my way through the cold, dark wintry morning to my bancuh kopi place. "Why?"; many of you may ask. The answer is simply;
Job = Money = Travel/Holidays/Shopping!!!!
That was probably the mantra we lived by, and what we swore by for 12 months!

Which reminds me of our stint as tv-commercial extras with Park Ji-Sung. And not forgetting, our experience auditioning for another commercial with him in it, where we had to dance to the tune of Saturday Night Fever (if my memory does not fail me). Lols!!!!

On another note, NS posted a couple of albums in Facebook recently. Chinese New Year in Chinatown and a couple of 'tourist spots' in Manchester. I recalled life as a 'yellow-skinned' in a land of whites. I remembered how confusing it could be trying to explain to people that I'm Malaysian foremost and of Chinese origin. And all the more, how difficult it could be explaining the concept of chinese-go-by-both-their-middle-and-first-names scenario to the Mat Sallehs around. Sometimes I give up but there are times where I would stubbornly insist on them addressing me by both names. :P

As I was looking through her pictures, I could feel myself going, "Hey! That's Nicholas' St. in Chinatown!" "Hey! That's Wong Wong!" "Hey! That's Canal St.!" But perhaps, more strikingly, I went, "Ah, NS.... It's been ages since I saw her!!!!!" and "NS & D, so sweet!!!" :) (Hey, seriously!!!)

Oh well, as for now, (as discussed with Jenny); we've got to contend with AirAsia breaks around the Asian region. So girls, keep an eye on your Facebook invites! ;)

We shall revive the Manchester travel bug; Asian version!

-LV-

Done!

The journey is finally (officially) over!!!!!

-LV-

Karma, Karma, Karma

What comes around goes around. And I, despite not being the true-blue Buddhist I should be, I do believe in karma.

"Do not do unto others, what would pain thyself."

Unfortunately, many individuals do not seem to subscribe to this mantra, especially where relationships are concerned. Perhaps, these people belong to the alternative school of thought whereby all's fair in love and war.

And yes, these people would go all out and try every single trick in their bag to snatch, rob and nick someone else's better half. I detest, abhor, loathe, hate!!!!

Real life scenario in point.

A and B are dating. A moves to company X and meets C there. C, sensing the 'good prospect' in A decides to pounce. Armed with buckets full of home-made double-boiled soup, and yes, home cooked dinner invitations, C managed to snare A from under B's nose.

Bingo!!!! C landed herself the much wanted bounty!!!!! Tralalalala.... all at B's expense.

I know I may be wrong to have labelled C a b**** instantly, as A is to blame as well for not being able to resist temptation or perhaps for not being satisfied with what he has at the moment. As they always say, there won't be smoke without fire. And of course, it takes two to tango.

But well, she (C) knows very well that A is taken. Yet, she chose to play the role of the vicious boyfriend snatcher. Enough said, and my respect towards her is lost.

At times I wonder, has she ever wondered how it would have felt had she been the one in B's shoes?

Or perhaps, is A really that 'naive and innocent' when he said yes and thank you to the buckets of soup and home cooked dinner invitations?

Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore now. As the rest they say, is history. A and C are happily married.

So, 1-0 to the boyfriend snatcher!!!!

-LV-

Conquering the Peak of IndoChina

I've done Mt. K.

And I found out about Mt. Fansipan from The Star today. Planning to conquer it if and when possible. Any takers?

Further details at: http://www.trekfansipan.com/

-LV-

Bento Bento Bento

My fish and eel lunchbox, at Kissaten (I think that's the name), Ipoh. Yummy, fun but fattening few days of CNY hanging out sessions and roadtrips with the gang. Haih, I dread the thought of next Tuesday!

My Alma Matter

Secondary school; the place you had your first crush, puppy love, sense of comrade-ship, sense of pride towards your achievements, and most importantly the place that shaped you to be who you are today. I passed by my alma matter yesterday and stopped right in front of it while waiting for the traffic lights to turn green. Hence, this picture...

Bringing Nature to Work

Mum planted this 'lil plant for me. I brought it to work yesterday to brighten up my otherwise lifeless looking work station...

Of Eggs and Pigs in Blankets

We had an 'experiment' filled lunch today.

Bro made his egg-which-sticks-on-the-toast toast today. He tried placing the slice of bread on a frying pan and then he cracked the egg on the bread hoping that it would cook. But alas, it didn't. Hence, he turned to the oven for rescue. And thank god it did.

With some garlic butter spread on the bread and some black pepper sprinkled over the egg. It looked good, if not calorie laden!

In the meantime, I decided to make pigs in a blanket. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigs_in_a_blanket) It was something I first had during the first of my many Christmases back in Manchester. Sinful, but delicious!

Well, it's essentially cocktail sausages with slices of streaky bacon wrapped over it. However, we decided to substitute the cocktail sausages with German Bratwurst for a crunchier and meaty bite. :P

It turned out fine but would have been better had we used cocktail sausages. Firstly, we didn't have enough bacon to go round the Bratwursts. And secondly, lazy me didn't bother using a toothpick/cocktail stick to hold the bacon in place. Hence, the 'blanket' slipped off the 'pig' at the end of the cooking process.

Nonetheless, here's the end product.

Note to self:

Will use toothpicks and get more bacon if we use German Bratwurst again. Otherwise, will buy cocktail sausages for it.

-LV-

Acessories; bracelets, pendants, anklets, etc are one of my biggest vices. I succumbed to the temptation once again, and hence this new bracelet of mine. Probably the chunkiest and heaviest one that I've owned so far...

It's got blue crystals, that's probably one of the reasons why I love it so much!!! :)

-LV-

Live Feed: BAC Graduation Ceremony

Here I am, my butt plonked comfortably on a seat at the Sime Darby Convention Centre; attending the BAC Graduation Ceremony. More pictures to follow...

I N.E.E.D T.O R.A.N.T

1. I'm lying in bed, sick again for the 2nd time in 3 weeks. Bloody hell!

2. I find blogging increasingly frustrating nowadays as my bloggable material is restricted somehow. Firstly, I can't blog about work. Secondly, I can't blog to diss and bitch. Thirdly, I can't blog to complain. *sulks*

3. I question time and again some 'wise choices' of mine. And am preplexed as to the reasons I chose to do likewise.

4. I think I'm burning quite a few matches every now and then. And I am really at the risk of burning myself sooner rather than later.

5. Can someone spare me some time and listen to me??????????????? P.L.E.A.S.E......

6. Oh, okay... I need to learn how, when and actually T.R.Y to keep my mouth shut.

-LV-

Raleigh @ Youth '09

Here's what I've been up to this weekend - I dropped by the Raleigh roadshow at Youth '09.


The Raleigh crew did the usual expedition slideshow presentation along with a short talk by LY about the 4 Raleigh challenges.

We had a huge 8-man tent on display, alongside with a colourful, Hawaian beach themed 2-man (I presume) tent which some cosplay dudes took the opportunity to pose with. And of course, Liza and I grabbed the opportunity to take a picture with them!

Spoke to a February '09 venturer who sounded quite enthusiastic about her up-coming adventure which I'm sure she will enjoy tremendously.

Raleigh-ians, being the 'jakun' Raleigh-ians whereever we go, we were jumping, scrambling, screaming and running around the whole exhibition hall. And of course, the presence of bean bags do not contribute much to prevent the cause.

Res ipsa loquitor (Latin for the thing (in this case, picture) speaks for itself).

-LV

Mamut!!!

Our complete collection of Mamut stools fr Ikea; in pink, blue and green...

Of Bonfires and Matches

The thought of it is tempting,

But light too many matches, you'll end up burning yourself...

-LV-